Murfreesboro City Schools

Murfreesboro City Schools, located in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, is comprised of 13 elementary schools serving grades PK through 6, with no middle or high schools among them. While the district ranks 99th out of 141 Tennessee districts overall, individual schools span an enormous performance range — from the #3 ranked elementary school in the state to schools in the bottom 14% of all Tennessee elementary schools.

Discovery School is the clear standout, ranked #3 in Tennessee with 93.4% ELA proficiency, 94.4% science proficiency, and a 5-star rating — all while spending below the district average of $14,130 per student. Overall Creek Elementary and Erma Siegel Elementary are the next strongest traditional schools, ranking in the 82nd and 80th percentiles respectively, with math proficiency near 65%. Salem Elementary offers the lowest per-student spending in the district at $12,354 while still earning a 4-star rating and 71st percentile ranking. On the other end of the spectrum, six of the thirteen schools are rated 1-star: Reeves-Rogers Elementary (14th percentile) has the district's lowest ELA proficiency at 17.5% and the highest chronic absenteeism at 21.1%, while Mitchell-Neilson Elementary (17th percentile) and Hobgood Elementary (19th percentile) also struggle significantly.

Several district-wide patterns stand out. Sixth-grade performance collapses district-wide, with 6th-grade math at 27.7% proficiency compared to 51.6% in 5th grade. Social Studies is also a major weakness, with the district at 28.6% proficiency versus 51.4% statewide — although Discovery School (90%) and Bradley Academy (52.5%) are exceptions. Chronic absenteeism tracks performance closely, and higher spending does not guarantee better outcomes; the highest-spending schools are among the lowest-performing. Most schools have lost ground in state rankings over the past two years, with Black Fox Elementary and Reeves-Rogers Elementary each dropping 19 percentile points.