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Lester Prep

Public, Charter Grades 6-8

512^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 583 Tennessee Middle Schools

Better than 12% of Tennessee middle schools

Summary

Lester Prep is a public charter middle school in Memphis, Tennessee, serving 219 students in grades 6-8. The school is part of the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission district, which is ranked 117 out of 139 districts in the state and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Lester Prep consistently ranks in the bottom 20% of Tennessee middle schools, with proficiency rates in core subjects like Math, English Language Arts, Science, and Social Studies that are significantly lower than the state and district averages, often by 20-30 percentage points. The school's performance is particularly weak in English Language Arts, where only 5.9-7.6% of students are proficient, compared to the state average of 29.6-39.5%. Lester Prep also has high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 18.9% to 60.1% over the past 3 years, which is well above the state and district averages.

Interestingly, the nearby schools, such as KIPP Memphis Collegiate Middle, White Station Middle, and Maxine Smith STEAM Academy, generally outperform Lester Prep across academic metrics, despite serving similar student populations. Maxine Smith STEAM Academy, in particular, stands out with exceptional performance, ranking among the top 5 middle schools in the state and achieving proficiency rates of 70-90% in core subjects. These comparisons highlight the significant achievement gap between Lester Prep and the higher-performing schools in the area, suggesting that factors beyond just funding and resources may be contributing to the school's poor outcomes.

204

Students ?

11.5

Student/teacher ratio ?

$18,343

Per pupil spending ?

320 Carpenter ST
Memphis, TN 38112

(901) 416-3640

District: Tennessee Public Charter School Commission

Racial breakdown:

African American:

95.6%

White:

2.0%

Hispanic:

1.5%

See top rated Tennessee middle schools

Compare Lester Prep to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 17th percentile in 2023 → 12th in 2025

Strengths

✓Small classes — about 12 students per teacher

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Tennessee average (17% vs 43% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (12th percentile)

!High chronic absenteeism (48% vs 18% Tennessee)

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school17%

District avg33%

Tennessee avg43%

512^th of 583

Tennessee public middle schools ?

Bottom 12%▼ down 5 pts since 2023

From bottom 17% (2023) to bottom 12% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Tennessee Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

3^rd of 3Middle Schools in the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission

117^th of 139Tennessee Public Charter School Commission among Tennessee districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Tennessee percentile	Rating
2025	13.3	512 of 583	12.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	20.5	472 of 587	19.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	17.0	493 of 594	17.0%	★☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Tennessee percentile	Rating
2025	24.2	245 of 312	21.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	33.2	193 of 318	39.3%	★★☆☆☆
2023	28.7	211 of 316	33.2%	★★☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Tennessee percentile	Rating
2025	16.8	463 of 546	15.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	19.7	452 of 554	18.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	20.7	452 of 560	19.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Tennessee percentile	Rating
2025	22.8	400 of 490	18.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	31.8	363 of 510	28.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	27.6	389 of 514	24.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Tennessee percentile	Rating
2025	13.5	490 of 550	10.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	20.5	453 of 560	19.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	15.1	490 of 557	12.0%	★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Tennessee percentile	Rating
2025	28.5	240 of 332	27.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	46.9	109 of 299	63.5%	★★★☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

Special Education (2025)28th percentile+16 vs school

African American (2025)21st percentile+9 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)18th percentile+6 vs school

Female (2025)15th percentile+3 vs school

Male (2025)11th percentile~ school

By subject vs Tennessee (2024-2025) ?

Social Studies28%-21 vs state

Science21%-25 vs state

Mathematics11%-31 vs state

English Language Arts7%-32 vs state

★

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Schools Near Lester Prep

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				TNReady Mathematics (2025)				TNReady English Language Arts (2025)				TNReady Algebra I (2025)		TNReady Science (2025)				TNReady Social Studies (2025)				Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	TNReady Mathematics 6th Grade	TNReady Mathematics 7th Grade	TNReady Mathematics 8th Grade	TNReady Mathematics All Grades	TNReady English Language Arts 6th Grade	TNReady English Language Arts 7th Grade	TNReady English Language Arts 8th Grade	TNReady English Language Arts All Grades	TNReady Algebra I 8th Grade	TNReady Algebra I All Grades	TNReady Science 6th Grade	TNReady Science 7th Grade	TNReady Science 8th Grade	TNReady Science All Grades	TNReady Social Studies 6th Grade	TNReady Social Studies 7th Grade	TNReady Social Studies 8th Grade	TNReady Social Studies All Grades	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Lester Prep	Public, Charter	6-8	320 Carpenter ST	Memphis	38112	Shelby County	Tennessee Public Charter School Commission	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(901) 416-3640	219	19	11.5		2 (0.9%)	205 (93.6%)	9 (4.1%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.9%)	13.3	512^th of 583 public middle schools	12.2%		20.5	472^nd of 587 public middle schools	19.6%	40	8.7	10.4	15.7	11.2	7.2	7.6	5.9	7.0			11.6	29.9	23.5	21.4	33.3	40.3	5.9	28.3	$18,343	$2,193	$16,150
Maxine Smith STEAM Academy	Public	6-8	750 E Parkway S	Memphis	38104	Shelby County	Memphis-Shelby County Schools	No	No	No	No	(901) 416-4536	397	24	16.8		120 (30.2%)	215 (54.2%)	33 (8.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	29 (7.3%)	98.8	4^th of 583 public middle schools	99.3%		98.2	9^th of 587 public middle schools	98.5%	5	78.4	70.2	91.0	78.2	79.1	84.1	74.5	79.3			82.4	84.1	85.4	83.9	79.1	93.1	92.0	87.8	$12,546	$828	$11,351
Treadwell Middle School	Public	6-8	920 N Highland St	Memphis	38122	Shelby County	Memphis-Shelby County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(901) 416-6100	662	37	17.7		39 (5.9%)	222 (33.5%)	374 (56.5%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	24 (3.6%)	9	549^th of 583 public middle schools	5.8%		15.4	504^th of 587 public middle schools	14.1%	45	12.1	13.1	6.0	10.5	11.6	14.6	7.2	11.1			20.5	18.0	12.6	17.2	21.5	21.2	15.0	19.3	$14,256	$1,747	$11,810
University Middle School	Public	6-8	330 Fogelman DR	Memphis	38152	Shelby County	University Schools	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(901) 678-4200	0																		(n/a)																			$13,446	$219	$13,068
Kingsbury Middle	Public	6-8	1276 N Graham St	Memphis	38122	Shelby County	Memphis-Shelby County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(901) 416-6040	502	30	16.7		36 (7.2%)	100 (19.9%)	343 (68.3%)	3 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (4.0%)	6.6	563^rd of 583 public middle schools	3.4%		8.8	561^st of 587 public middle schools	4.4%	2	16.3	6.4	9.9	11.1	15.0	5.0	5.6	8.8			19.4	7.9	8.8	12.3	14.4	6.3		8.5	$12,315	$1,935	$10,013
Sherwood Middle	Public	6-8	3480 Rhodes Ave	Memphis	38111	Shelby County	Memphis-Shelby County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(901) 416-4870	670	46	14.5		4 (0.6%)	468 (69.9%)	185 (27.6%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (1.8%)	5	576^th of 583 public middle schools	1.2%		4.2	587^th of 587 public middle schools	0.0%	11			7.7								6.2	17.0	8.6	10.6	5.3	20.4	10.7	12.0	$14,013	$1,948	$11,204
Bellevue Middle	Public, Magnet	6-8	575 S Bellevue Blvd	Memphis	38104	Shelby County	Memphis-Shelby County Schools	No	Yes	No	Yes	(901) 416-4488	606	35	17.4		7 (1.2%)	527 (87.0%)	37 (6.1%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	32 (5.3%)	27.3	443^rd of 583 public middle schools	24.0%		26.9	433^rd of 587 public middle schools	26.2%	10	12.0	14.5	15.8	14.2	26.5	24.1	22.1	24.1	14.3	14.3	25.1	45.4	36.5	35.9	24.0	40.2	34.1	33.0	$13,738	$1,289	$11,474
Veritas College Preparatory	Public, Charter	6-8	1500 Dunn AVE	Memphis	38106	Shelby County	Memphis-Shelby County Schools	Yes	No	No	Yes	(901) 526-1900	135	11	12.2		0 (0.0%)	125 (92.6%)	5 (3.7%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (3.0%)	6.3	566^th of 583 public middle schools	2.9%		9	558^th of 587 public middle schools	4.9%	8	6.7	6.4	9.5	7.5	13.3	6.4	7.1	9.0			6.7	14.9	14.3	11.9	11.1	21.3	16.7	16.4	$19,447	$1,512	$17,569
KIPP Memphis Collegiate Middle	Public, Charter	6-8	230 Henry AVE	Memphis	38107	Shelby County	Memphis-Shelby County Schools	Yes	No	No	Yes	(901) 791-9390	300	24	12.7		5 (1.7%)	278 (92.7%)	11 (3.7%)	2 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.3%)	16	499^th of 583 public middle schools	14.4%		18.8	478^th of 587 public middle schools	18.6%	21	18.9	24.0	25.0	22.3	13.5	15.8	14.3	14.5			18.0	27.0	28.9	24.0	15.5	22.0	27.6	21.0	$12,445	$1,457	$10,621
White Station Middle	Public, Magnet	6-8	5465 Mason Rd	Memphis	38120	Shelby County	Memphis-Shelby County Schools	No	Yes	No	Yes	(901) 416-2184	1,091	69	15.8		263 (24.1%)	465 (42.6%)	198 (18.1%)	80 (7.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	84 (7.7%)	79.4	85^th of 583 public middle schools	85.4%		75.8	101^st of 587 public middle schools	82.8%	16	54.8	48.9	38.9	48.2	56.9	52.3	44.5	51.3			61.8	60.4	49.7	57.8	61.0	56.1	56.9	58.1	$13,651	$1,299	$11,699

Frequently Asked Questions about Lester Prep

Is Lester Prep a good school?

Lester Prep ranks in the bottom 12.2% of Tennessee middle schools.

What is the racial makeup of Lester Prep?

Students at Lester Prep are 96% African American, 2% White, 1% Hispanic.

How many students attend Lester Prep?

In the 2024-25 school year, 204 students attended Lester Prep.

What district is Lester Prep in?

Tennessee Public Charter School Commission

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Latest Tennessee data All new data »

2024–25 dropout ratesApr 2, 2026

2024–25 school spending dataFeb 27, 2026

2024–25 attendance dataDec 18, 2025

2024–25 graduation ratesOct 28, 2025

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Tennessee Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.