Best Public Schools in Millington, TN

Millington, Tennessee is served by six schools educating 3,492 students across grades PK-12, split between the Millington Municipal Schools and Memphis-Shelby County Schools districts, and the city collectively trails Tennessee state averages by roughly 10–14 percentage points in math, ELA, science, and social studies. The two districts produce very different results: Millington Municipal Schools ranks 119th of 141 Tennessee districts (1 star), while Memphis-Shelby County Schools ranks 137th of 141 (0 stars), yet the municipal schools consistently outperform the county-run schools within Millington city limits.

Parents looking for the strongest academics in Millington should start with Millington Primary School, the city's clear academic leader and the only school above state averages in a core subject, posting 48% math proficiency and 48.3% ELA proficiency against state averages of 43% and 40.6%, respectively. Millington Central Middle High School offers a different kind of strength: despite low overall proficiency, it posts a 92.2% graduation rate, a 5.5% dropout rate, and strong accelerated math results, with 86.7% of 8th graders proficient in Algebra I and 77.8% of 10th graders proficient in Algebra II. Within the Memphis-Shelby County system, E.E. Jeter Elementary/Middle School is the clear standout, outperforming its district averages by wide margins in every subject, including 31.4% math proficiency versus the MSCS average of 22.1%.

The most concerning results are found at Lucy Elementary School, the city's lowest-performing school, where only 9.8% of 3rd graders were proficient in math and chronic absenteeism reaches 24.5%, the highest in Millington. Woodstock Middle School has just 6.2% chronic absenteeism, far better than the state's 18.3%, yet its 16.4% math and 13.4% ELA proficiency are among the city's worst, showing that attendance alone does not drive success. Notably, the two highest-spending schools, E.E. Jeter Elementary/Middle School at $17,811 per student and Lucy Elementary School at $17,647, are in the lower-performing county district, while the higher-performing municipal schools spend less, suggesting spending alone does not explain outcomes. Millington Intermediate School sits in the middle with 37.2% math and 38.4% ELA proficiency, while ranking trends show Millington Primary School improving and E.E. Jeter Elementary/Middle School declining over the past three years.