Clarkrange High School

Clarkrange High School is a small, rural public high school in Clarkrange, Tennessee, serving 231 students in grades 9–12 as part of the Fentress County Schools district. Despite the district's overall 1-star rating, Clarkrange earns 4 stars and ranks 116th out of 400 Tennessee high schools (71st percentile). That puts it essentially tied with the much larger Stone Memorial High School and ahead of both Alvin C. York Agricultural Institute and Monterey High School.

The school's most distinctive strengths involve student support. Its graduation rate stands at 98.4%, well above the state average of 90.5%, and its dropout rate is roughly half the state average. Clarkrange is especially strong with economically disadvantaged students, ranking 29th out of 308 Tennessee high schools for that group (91st percentile, 5 stars) — a remarkable result showing that the school's success is not driven by a privileged student body. The school also invests heavily per student: $15,979 per student compared with $11,262 at Stone Memorial, and a student-teacher ratio of just 8.8 to 1.

Academically, results are mixed. Clarkrange exceeds state proficiency rates in Algebra II (46.9% vs. 37.3%) and English II (61.8% vs. 58.1%), but lags behind in Biology I (36.1% vs. 49.8%) and Geometry (33.9% vs. 42.3%). Chronic absenteeism has improved dramatically, dropping from 30.7% in 2022–2023 to 17.7% in 2024–2025, now below the state average. Because the school is small, strong or weak cohorts can shift rankings from year to year — for example, Algebra I proficiency swung from 10.9% to 29.6% in consecutive years. Overall, Clarkrange is a solid, improving school that stands out within its region.