Summary:
Liberty, Tennessee is served by a single school, DeKalb West Elementary School, a PK-8 campus of 466 students in DeKalb County Schools. Because there is only one school in the city, this analysis focuses entirely on that campus, using state ranking, TNReady proficiency, chronic absenteeism, and spending data to give parents a full picture of what the school offers.
DeKalb West outperforms its district in every subject tested in 2025-2026, including math (38.6% vs. 35.0%), ELA (41.9% vs. 37.1%), science (39.6% vs. 37.1%), and social studies (48.6% vs. 48.0%). However, the school's statewide ranking has fallen sharply, from the 64th percentile (3 stars) in 2023-2024 to the 39th percentile (2 stars) in 2025-2026. Year-over-year, scores declined in all four subjects, with the steepest drop in math (-6.7 points). The most concerning area is early elementary: only 13.2% of 3rd graders are proficient in math, a 29.4-point gap behind the state. Conversely, middle grades are a clear strength, with 6th grade ELA at 59.6% proficiency—nearly 20 points ahead of the state—and 6th grade math, 8th grade math, and 8th grade ELA also exceeding state averages.
On a positive note, chronic absenteeism at DeKalb West is 14.6%, better than the district (15.2%) and state (18.3%). The school spends $12,438 per student, though free/reduced lunch and student-teacher ratio are not reported, limiting socioeconomic and class-size comparisons. For parents, the main takeaway is that this is a school that shines in middle grades and beats its district average, but is struggling in early grades and facing a rapid decline in its state rating. If you have children in the upper grades, the data is encouraging; if your child is entering 3rd or 4th grade, it is worth paying close attention to math and reading support.
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