Summary:
Humboldt, Tennessee is served by the Humboldt City Schools district, which includes three public schools: Stigall Primary School (PK–1), East Elementary School (2–6), and Humboldt Junior/Senior High School (7–12), together enrolling about 1,044 students. The district is currently ranked 141 out of 141 Tennessee districts, placing it at the very bottom of statewide performance with a 0-star rating.
Among the three schools, East Elementary stands out as the attendance leader, with a chronic absenteeism rate of 18.4% that essentially matches the state average of 18.3%. By contrast, Stigall Primary has a chronic absenteeism rate of 27.9%, while Humboldt Junior/Senior High School has the district's highest rate at 29.8%. The high school also presents a striking paradox: it graduates 96.9% of its students, well above the state average of 90.5%, yet its students score far below state proficiency levels in every core subject. For example, just 9.1% are proficient in math compared with 43.0% statewide, and only 8.4% are proficient in English Language Arts versus 40.6% across Tennessee.
Academically, the gaps are wide across all grades. East Elementary posts the district's highest ELA proficiency at 13.2%, but its math proficiency dropped to just 5.5% this year. Even the strongest grade-level result — 31.1% proficiency in 7th grade social studies at the high school — trails the state by about 25 points. There are a few bright spots: high school science and social studies each improved by more than 8 points year-over-year, and per-student spending is relatively high, ranging from $15,108 at East Elementary to $16,762 at the high school. For parents, the bottom line is that the district is heading in the wrong direction on state rankings, and the combination of high chronic absenteeism—especially in the earliest grades and high school—along with very low test proficiency points to urgent needs in elementary math and early-grade attendance.
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