Stewart County Schools

Stewart County Schools, a four-school district in rural western Tennessee serving approximately 1,972 students across pre-K through 12th grade, ranks 40th out of 141 districts in the state with a 4-star rating. The district's two elementaries, one middle, and one high school show notable differences in performance. Among the standout performers, Dover Elementary leads the district with a rank of 240th out of 1,019 elementary schools, up more than 200 places over the past two years. Dover exceeds state averages in every subject, posting 54.1% proficiency in math, 56.6% in ELA, and 53.4% in science. Its low chronic absenteeism rate of just 7.1% is roughly half the district average and below the state rate, making it the district's strongest overall performer.

Stewart County Middle School is a math powerhouse, ranked 178th out of 594 middle schools with a 4-star rating. A standout 72% of its students achieve proficiency in Algebra I, far exceeding the district's 23.1% and the state's 32.3% averages. The middle school also beats state averages in 7th grade math and ELA. At the other end of the spectrum, North Stewart Elementary is the district's lowest-ranked school at 456th out of 1,019. Despite spending the most per student ($12,535), North Stewart trails the district averages in every subject and has a chronic absenteeism rate of 13.8% — nearly double the rate at Dover Elementary. This reveals that funding alone does not predict academic success.

Stewart County High School shows a tale of two paths. While it shines in upper-level courses — 91.2% proficiency in 10th grade Algebra II and 65.3% in English II — its foundational course results are concerning: Algebra I proficiency sits at just 9.8% and 10th grade Biology I at 9.1%, both far below state averages. Chronic absenteeism is also highest at the high school, at 20.4%. Encouragingly, the high school posts a 90.2% graduation rate and a 4.2% dropout rate that beats the state's 6.7%. The district's most significant opportunity lies in supporting students in foundational high school courses and addressing chronic absenteeism while building on the impressive gains seen in the elementary schools.