Best Public Schools in Maynardville, TN

Maynardville, Tennessee is served by 7 schools within the Union County Schools district, spanning grades PK-12 with a total enrollment of about 2,323 students. The district ranks 124th out of 141 districts in Tennessee, placing it in the 12th percentile with a 1-star rating, meaning overall performance is significantly below state averages. However, this low district ranking hides some bright spots—two of the five regular schools rank in the top half of Tennessee elementary schools.

Big Ridge Elementary School and Paulette Elementary School are the standouts, both ranking at the 52nd percentile with 3 stars. Big Ridge posts average proficiency of 44.3%, essentially matching the state average of 43.5%, and has the lowest chronic absenteeism rate among regular schools at 17.6%. Paulette is right behind at 44.2% average proficiency and outperforms state averages in ELA and Science. Both schools have improved their rankings over recent years. Union County High School also has notable strengths, including a 93.1% graduation rate, a 3.4% dropout rate (far better than the state's 6.7%), and strong Algebra II and US History scores, though its Algebra I and Biology I scores are well below state averages.

On the other end, Maynardville Elementary School is the lowest-performing regular school at the 17th percentile, with average proficiency of just 27.7% despite spending $17,769 per student. H Maynard Middle School ranks at the 31st percentile and trails state averages by more than 13 percentage points. Chronic absenteeism is a major concern across the district, with Union County High School at 30.2%, H Maynard Middle at 25.9%, and alternative schools at 34.5% and 45.5%. Notably, the highest-spending school (Big Ridge at $19,941 per student) is also the highest-performing, but the second-highest spender (Maynardville Elementary) is the lowest-performing, showing spending alone does not drive results. The two alternative schools—Union County Alternative Center and Elementary Middle Alternative School—serve very small enrollments with extremely low proficiency and high absenteeism.