Summary:
Loretto, Tennessee, is served by two public schools within the Lawrence County Schools district, which ranks 51st out of 141 districts in the state: South Lawrence Elementary School (serving grades PK–8 with 624 students) and Loretto High School (serving grades 9–12 with 452 students). Although Loretto is a small city, South Lawrence Elementary functions as a combined elementary and middle school since the district operates no separate middle school in the area.
South Lawrence Elementary School is the standout school in this pair. It earned a 4-star rating and ranks in the 80th percentile among Tennessee elementary schools, placing 202nd out of 1,019 schools. It beats both the district and state averages in math, ELA, and science, with only social studies lagging slightly below the state. Loretto High School also holds a 4-star rating, ranking 107th out of 400 high schools (73rd percentile), and it has improved significantly from a 3-star, 53rd-percentile ranking two years ago. However, its subject performance is more uneven: the school exceeds state averages in Algebra II and English I, but falls below the district and state in Geometry and Biology I.
Attendance is a clear strength for both schools — chronic absenteeism is 12.7% at South Lawrence and 9.8% at Loretto High, well below the 18.3% statewide rate. The most notable concerns are subject- and grade-specific. South Lawrence shows strong early-grade ELA that drops sharply by 7th and 8th grade, and its 6th grade social studies proficiency is just 22.6% versus 50.7% statewide. Loretto High's 11th grade Algebra II proficiency is only 15.4%, and its geometry results remain persistently below district and state levels. Per-student spending is higher at the high school ($13,272) than at the elementary school ($11,649). One caution: the reported 15.8% graduation rate for Loretto High appears to be a data error — it is inconsistent with the school's 4-star rating, low dropout rate, and strong attendance.
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