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Best Public Schools in Zip Code 41143

New rankings! SchoolDigger recently updated its Kentucky rankings with newly released test scores for the 2025-26 school year.

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At a glance

Schools

2,233

Students

5-star school

Top rankedCarter City Elementary School50^th of 684 Kentucky elementary schools

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Biggest riser

Carter City Elementary School up 95 spots statewide this year

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Smallest classes

Carter City Elementary School 12.2 students per teacher

SchoolDigger ratings

5★

3★

2★

1★

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Summary:

ZIP code 41143 has five schools—three elementary schools, one middle school and one high school—with 2,233 students in total, an average enrollment of 447, and school sizes ranging from 117 to 678. Results in 2025–2026 vary considerably across the area rather than pointing to one uniformly strong or weak group of schools. The most important finding is that Carter City Elementary School leads the reported elementary math and reading results, while East Carter Middle School is below state results in every reported math and reading grade.

Carter City stands out at the top: its Grade 3–5 math results were 57%, 64% and 81%, including 38 percentage points above the state in Grade 5; its Grade 3 and Grade 5 reading results were 15 and 24 points above the state. In Grade 5 math, it scored 37 points above Heritage Elementary School and 35 points above Prichard Elementary School. At the other end, East Carter Middle was 18 points below the state in Grade 6 math and 14 points below in Grade 6 reading; its Grade 8 social studies result was 13 points below. Results at Heritage are mixed: Grade 5 editing and mechanics was 11 points above the state, while Grade 4 reading was 22 points below. East Carter County High School had a notable strength in Grade 11 writing, 57% proficient and 10 points above the state.

Recent trends reinforce the contrast: across 35 matched subject-grade comparisons, the average school-to-state gap moved 2 points in the unfavorable direction. East Carter Middle’s SchoolDigger percentile fell from 54th to 22nd over three years, while Carter City rose from 82nd to 93rd; Carter City is currently rated five stars by SchoolDigger and East Carter Middle one star. Carter City also has the lowest student-teacher ratio, 12.2, compared with 20.6 at East Carter Middle. Free/reduced lunch eligible shares in 2024–2025 ranged from 56% at East Carter County High to 77% at Heritage; these figures provide context, not an explanation for results. Some current subject results are suppressed, so not every school can be compared in every subject.

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				KSA Mathematics (2026)							KSA Reading (2026)							KSA Science (2026)			KSA Writing (2026)			KSA Social Studies (2026)			KSA Editing and Mechanics (2026)			Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/reduced lunch (2024-25)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	KSA Mathematics 3rd Grade	KSA Mathematics 4th Grade	KSA Mathematics 5th Grade	KSA Mathematics 6th Grade	KSA Mathematics 7th Grade	KSA Mathematics 8th Grade	KSA Mathematics 10th Grade	KSA Reading 3rd Grade	KSA Reading 4th Grade	KSA Reading 5th Grade	KSA Reading 6th Grade	KSA Reading 7th Grade	KSA Reading 8th Grade	KSA Reading 10th Grade	KSA Science 4th Grade	KSA Science 7th Grade	KSA Science 11th Grade	KSA Writing 5th Grade	KSA Writing 8th Grade	KSA Writing 11th Grade	KSA Social Studies 5th Grade	KSA Social Studies 8th Grade	KSA Social Studies 11th Grade	KSA Editing and Mechanics 5th Grade	KSA Editing and Mechanics 8th Grade	KSA Editing and Mechanics 11th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
East Carter County High School	Public	9-12	405 Hitchins Rd	Grayson	41143	Carter County	Carter County	No	No	No	Yes	(606) 474-5714	678	36	18.6	55.9%	637 (94.0%)	1 (0.1%)	22 (3.2%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	16 (2.4%)	56.5	98^th of 262 public high schools	62.6%		48.8	132^nd of 254 public high schools	48.0%	34							44.0							49.0			24.0			57.0			35.0			41.0	$20,137	$889	$11,732
Prichard Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	401 E Main St	Grayson	41143	Carter County	Carter County	No	No	No	Yes	(606) 474-8815	612	40	15.4	64.2%	574 (93.8%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (3.1%)	2 (0.3%)	2 (0.3%)	1 (0.2%)	14 (2.3%)	51.6	326^th of 684 public elementary schools	52.3%		58	275^th of 685 public elementary schools	59.9%	51	43.0	41.0	46.0					50.0	46.0	49.0					42.0			47.0			41.0			48.0			$20,111	$1,340	$11,214
East Carter Middle School	Public	6-8	1 Spirit Lane	Grayson	41143	Carter County	Carter County	No	No	No	Yes	(606) 474-5156	490	24	20.6	62.4%	461 (94.1%)	1 (0.2%)	17 (3.5%)	4 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.4%)	5 (1.0%)	25.8	254^th of 326 public middle schools	22.1%		37.3	205^th of 320 public middle schools	35.9%	49				24.0	30.0	34.0					40.0	35.0	31.0						49.0			26.0			39.0		$19,210	$1,307	$10,439
Heritage Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	4863 S State Hwy 1	Grayson	41143	Carter County	Carter County	No	No	No	Yes	(606) 474-5784	336	22	15.0	77.1%	329 (97.9%)	1 (0.3%)	2 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.2%)	44.2	389^th of 684 public elementary schools	43.1%		49.9	337^th of 685 public elementary schools	50.8%	52	44.0		44.0					56.0	28.0	51.0					28.0			29.0			36.0			59.0			$20,841	$1,253	$12,007
Carter City Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	13321 State Hwy 2	Grayson	41143	Carter County	Carter County	No	No	No	Yes	(606) 474-6121	117	10	12.2	62.4%	114 (97.4%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (2.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	88.5	50^th of 684 public elementary schools	92.7%		74	145^th of 685 public elementary schools	78.8%	95	57.0	64.0	81.0					64.0		75.0																	$24,314	$1,205	$15,339

Cities Near Zip Code 41143

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Grayson	0.39 mi	5	158^th
Rush	8.02 mi	1	60^th
Olive Hill	9.86 mi	6	206^th
Ashland	12.37 mi	24	218^th
Catlettsburg	13.39 mi	2	141^st

See the top KY Kentucky cities

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Kentucky Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.