Best Public Schools in Benton, TN

Benton, Tennessee is served by four schools in the Polk County Schools district—Polk County High School (grades 9–12), Benton Elementary School (grades PK–5), Chilhowee Middle School (grades 6–8), and Polk Innovative Learning Academy (grades K–12)—enrolling about 1,261 students in this small southeastern Tennessee town. While the district ranks in the bottom 11% of Tennessee districts, individual school data reveal meaningful variation worth knowing.

Chilhowee Middle School is the clear bright spot: its statewide percentile improved from 37th to 54th, making it the only 3-star school in the city, and it beats the district in math, ELA, science, and social studies with strong year-over-year gains. Polk County High School sits at the state median and excels in upper-level subjects—Algebra II, US History, and Biology I all top the district, and its dropout rate of 2.2% is far below the state average—but it struggles in foundational freshman courses like Algebra I (14.7%) and English I (27.5%). Benton Elementary School is the most urgent concern: its percentile collapsed from 45th to 22nd, proficiency fell sharply in math, ELA, and science, and chronic absenteeism hit 27.1%, the highest in the city. Polk Innovative Learning Academy, an alternative K–12 program, is not ranked, posts far lower proficiency, and receives the least funding per student at $6,555.

Across Benton, chronic absenteeism is elevated at every traditional school, exceeding the state average of 18.3% by at least four points. The district's low overall rating clearly masks both genuine strengths and serious weaknesses, so parents should look past the district rating and consider each school individually—particularly the contrast between Chilhowee's upward momentum and Benton Elementary's sharp decline.