Middle Schools in Kingsport City Schools

Kingsport City Schools, a four-star Tennessee district ranked 21st out of 141 districts, is home to two middle schools — Ross N. Robinson Middle School and John Sevier Middle School — both serving grades 6–8 with a combined enrollment of roughly 1,700 students.

Ross N. Robinson Middle School is the district's consistent high performer, ranking 60th out of 594 Tennessee schools (90th percentile, 5 stars) and holding a stable top-10% position for three consecutive years. It leads the district in Science (63.5% proficient) and Social Studies (67.2%), and its chronic absenteeism rate of 19.8% is close to the state average. By contrast, John Sevier Middle School is the district's rapid improver, jumping from the 56th to the 76th percentile in just two years with dramatic one-year gains in Mathematics (+7.7 points) and ELA (+10.5 points). John Sevier posts exceptional advanced math scores — 92.9% proficient in Algebra I and 93.8% in Geometry, far above state averages — but its regular grade-level math proficiency is just 44.6%, suggesting a selective accelerated math program that separates its top students from the rest.

Both schools outperform state averages in all core subjects, though neither quite matches the district average in regular math and ELA. The biggest concern is chronic absenteeism at John Sevier: at 34.4%, it is 10 points above the district and 16 points above the state, and nearly 15 points higher than Ross Robinson. The two schools also share a grade-level pattern where 6th graders score highest, likely reflecting tougher middle-school coursework or advanced math students testing out of grade-level exams. Ross Robinson is the more balanced school overall, but John Sevier's upward trajectory — paired with its higher per-student spending of $14,291 versus $13,302 at Ross — suggests that if attendance improves, it could close much of the remaining gap.