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Richard Yoakley School

Public Grades 6-12
355th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 389 Tennessee High Schools
Better than 9% of Tennessee high schools
Summary

Richard Yoakley School is a public high school serving grades 6-12 in Knoxville, Tennessee, with only 105 students. As part of the Knox County school district, which is ranked 77 out of 139 districts in the state, Richard Yoakley School consistently underperforms compared to the district and state averages on standardized tests. For example, in the 2024-2025 school year, only 23.1% of 10th-grade students were proficient or better in Biology I, compared to 51.5% in Knox County and 36.3% statewide.

The school also struggles with extremely high rates of chronic absenteeism, ranging from 18.9% to 67.9% over the past few years, significantly higher than the state average. Additionally, Richard Yoakley School has performance gaps among student subgroups, ranking 354 out of 359 Tennessee high schools for male students and 320 out of 325 for white students in 2022-2023. Despite the relatively high per-student spending of $32,678 in the 2023-2024 school year, the school is not achieving the desired outcomes.

When compared to nearby schools, such as the high-performing L N STEM Academy and Career Magnet Academy, Richard Yoakley School is an outlier in terms of academic performance and student outcomes. Addressing the underlying issues and implementing targeted interventions will be crucial for improving the school's performance and providing a high-quality education for its students.

81
Students ?
5.5
Student/teacher ratio ?
$46,952
Per pupil spending ?
73.9%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 4415 Washington PIKE
       Knoxville, TN  37917

(865) 594-3790

District: Knox County

Racial breakdown:

White:
39.5%
African American:
34.6%
Hispanic:
14.8%
more
 See top rated Tennessee high schools

 Compare Richard Yoakley School to nearby high schools!
At a glance
Ranking trend: Declining — 17th percentile in 2022 → 9th in 2025
Strengths
Small classes — about 6 students per teacher
Worth a look
!Test scores below the Tennessee average (15% vs 48% meeting standards)
!In the lower quartile statewide (9th percentile)
!High chronic absenteeism (63% vs 18% Tennessee)
Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?
This school15%
District avg53%
Tennessee avg48%
355th of 389
Tennessee public high schools ?
Bottom 9%▼ down 8 pts since 2022
From bottom 17% (2022) to bottom 9% (2025)
See the entire ranking list of Tennessee High Schools →
SchoolDigger rating ?
15th of 16High Schools in the Knox County
77th of 139Knox County 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

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankTennessee percentileRating
202512.8355 of 3898.7%☆☆☆☆☆
20246.4385 of 3921.8%☆☆☆☆☆
20237.2369 of 3843.9%☆☆☆☆☆
202220.1297 of 35817.0%★☆☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankTennessee percentileRating
20236.4354 of 3591.4%☆☆☆☆☆
20228.7332 of 3494.9%☆☆☆☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankTennessee percentileRating
20238.4320 of 3251.5%☆☆☆☆☆
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)
White (2023)2nd percentile~ school
Male (2023)1st percentile-3 vs school
By subject vs Tennessee (2024-2025) ?
English II22%-33 vs state
Biology I13%-33 vs state
US History8%-31 vs state

5.0
1 rating · 1 written review
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What people are saying
by a teacher
Sunday, July 13, 2025

Open Quote RYS is an alternative school for kids that are suspended from their base school. With that being said the staff there are extremely caring and show support for the students when most outside of RYS have given up on them. The students are cared about. Close Quote





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Frequently Asked Questions about Richard Yoakley School

In the 2024-25 school year, 81 students attended Richard Yoakley School.

Students at Richard Yoakley School are 40% White, 35% African American, 15% Hispanic, 11% Two or more races.

Richard Yoakley School ranks in the bottom 8.7% of Tennessee high schools.


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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.





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