Summary:
Cheatham County Schools is a mid-sized district in Tennessee serving about 5,451 students across 14 schools — six elementary, three middle, four high, and one alternative school. Parents will find a district with clear pockets of excellence, especially at the elementary level, but with notable struggles in middle and high school math that are worth understanding before choosing a school.
Kingston Springs Elementary School stands out as the district’s clear star, with 69.7% math proficiency, 60.6% ELA proficiency, and only 9.3% chronic absenteeism — far better than district averages. Other strong elementary options include East Cheatham Elementary School, Pleasant View Elementary School, and Pegram Elementary Fine Arts Magnet School, all scoring above 50% in math. By contrast, Ashland City Elementary School lags badly at 38.4% math proficiency and has the highest absenteeism among traditional elementary schools (23.1%). In middle school, Sycamore Middle School is the clear winner — the only middle school at or above state averages — while Cheatham Middle School and Harpeth Middle School fall well behind.
At the high school level, Sycamore High School leads with a 93.9% graduation rate and strong Biology and US History scores, while Harpeth High School has impressive history and science proficiency despite a recent ranking slide. The biggest red flag district-wide is Algebra I: no comprehensive high school exceeds 14.3% proficiency, compared to a 32.3% state average. English I is also weak, though English II scores are much higher, suggesting real growth by 10th grade. Cheatham County Central School and Cheatham County Virtual School have the lowest graduation rates and highest dropout rates. Meanwhile, Riverside Academy, serving only 17 students at $50,013 per student, has extreme absenteeism and is not comparable to traditional schools. Overall, the district’s elementary foundation is strong, but middle school math and high school Algebra I need urgent attention.
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