Schools in Zip Code 42003

ZIP code 42003 has seven schools: four elementary schools, one middle school, one high school and one alternative school, serving families in McCracken County and Paducah Independent. Together they enroll 3,247 students, and the clearest overall finding is that results vary substantially by school and grade, even as one middle school stands out across its tested grades.

Lone Oak Middle School is the strongest broad-based standout: in 2025–26, it scored above the state in every reported subject and grade, including eighth-grade writing at 71% (23 percentage points above the state) and math at 61% (22 points above). Reidland Intermediate School led in fifth-grade writing, with 61% compared with 35% statewide, and also topped the state in fifth-grade math and reading. Hendron Lone Oak Elementary School led the available third-grade results, scoring 63% in math and 66% in reading. Lower results show why school and grade matter: Morgan Elementary School scored 37% in fifth-grade reading, 14 points below the state, and 22% in social studies, 16 points below. SchoolDigger ranks Lone Oak 22nd of 326 schools and Reidland Intermediate 158th of 684.

Recent changes are mixed: across 38 matched school-subject-grade results, the average distance from state scores narrowed by about 2 percentage points. Reidland Intermediate improved in all eight matched results, including a 35-point rise in fifth-grade writing; meanwhile, Reidland Elementary School fell 18 points in third-grade math and 17 in reading, and Hendron also declined in both third-grade subjects. SchoolDigger ranks Paducah Tilghman High School at the 62nd percentile, up from the 31st, though its chronic absenteeism was 37% versus 24% statewide; its graduation rate was 95%, close to the state’s 94%. The schools’ 2024–25 free/reduced lunch eligible rates ranged from 48% to 85%, a contextual measure rather than an explanation for results; average student-teacher ratio was 13.7. Choices Educational Center also reported high chronic absenteeism, at 41%; its test scores are suppressed, so no performance comparison is available.