Claiborne County Schools

Claiborne County Schools is a 12-school district in rural Tennessee serving approximately 3,823 students across elementary, middle, and high school levels, and it currently ranks 115th out of 141 Tennessee districts — placing it at the 18th percentile with a 1-star rating.

For parents looking at individual schools, a few clear standouts emerge. H.Y. Livesay Middle School is the district's academic leader, earning a 4-star rating and ranking in the 76th percentile of Tennessee middle schools, with proficiency rates exceeding state averages in ELA, science, and social studies. Ellen Myers Primary School is the top elementary school, ranking in the 61st percentile and improving steadily over the past three years, with 54.1% ELA proficiency and 55.0% science proficiency — both well above state averages. At the high school level, Cumberland Gap High School outperforms Claiborne High School in every subject, often by wide margins, and boasts a 98.0% graduation rate compared to the state's 90.5%. Springdale Elementary School stands out for attendance, with the district's lowest chronic absenteeism rate at 14.8%.

However, the district faces significant challenges. Math is the weakest subject district-wide, with only 29.7% proficiency in elementary and middle school math versus the state's 43.0%, and Claiborne High School's geometry proficiency is an extreme outlier at just 5.1%. Chronic absenteeism is a serious concern, averaging 23.5% across the district, with Forge Ridge School at 35.8% and Cumberland Gap High School at 30.3%. Notably, higher spending does not predict better results: Clairfield Elementary School spends $20,605 per student yet has some of the lowest test scores, while the top-performing H.Y. Livesay spends just $12,580. The district also shows an odd disconnect — graduation rates are high (96.1%) even as test proficiency lags the state in nearly every subject. Schools like Soldiers Memorial Middle School, Forge Ridge, and Clairfield Elementary are in urgent need of support.