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Karns High School

Q: Is Karns High School a good school?

Karns High School ranks 199 th of 400 Tennessee high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

Q: How many students attend Karns High School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 1,365 students attended Karns High School.

Q: What is the racial makeup of Karns High School?

Students at Karns High School are 65% White, 20% Hispanic, 8% African American, 5% Two or more races, 1% Asian.

Q: What schools feed into Karns High School?

Karns High School is fed by the following schools: Elementary : Amherst Elementary School Elementary : Karns Elementary School Elementary : Pleasant Ridge Elementary School Middle : Karns Middle School

Public Grades 9-12

199^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 400 Tennessee High Schools

Better than 50% of Tennessee high schools

Summary

Karns High School is a comprehensive public high school in Knoxville, TN, serving 1,365 students in grades 9–12 as part of Knox County Schools, and it sits right at the middle of Tennessee's rankings — 199th out of 400 schools (50th percentile, 3 stars) in 2025–2026. The school has been remarkably stable over the past decade, generally bouncing between the low-to-mid 40s and 50s in statewide percentile terms, with one exception: a 2015–2016 peak at 82nd percentile (4 stars). Karns' biggest challenge is context: it sits in a high-performing corridor. Within roughly 12 miles, Farragut High School (95th percentile), Hardin Valley Academy (76th), Bearden High School (77th), and L&N STEM Academy (99th) all rank well above Karns, while Powell High School sits essentially tied with Karns at the 50th percentile.

Academically, Karns has something of a "split personality." Its most glaring weakness is Algebra I, where only 10.2% of students were proficient in 2025–2026, versus 32.8% in the district and 32.3% statewide — among the lowest of nearby schools. However, the math struggles are not uniform. Students in accelerated pathways perform well: 93.1% of 9th graders taking Geometry and 74.1% of 10th graders taking Algebra II were proficient, both above state averages. In science and social studies, Karns actually shines: Biology I proficiency (57.2%) matches the district and beats the state (49.8%), and US History proficiency (46.9%) tops both district (42.0%) and state (42.4%) averages.

The most urgent concern, however, is a drop in graduation outcomes. After several years at or near 90%, Karns' graduation rate fell to 86.6% in 2024–2025 — below the district (90.4%) and state (90.5%) — while the dropout rate jumped to 9.7%, up from 3.6% the prior year. Chronic absenteeism has improved sharply, from 36.3% in 2021–2022 to 22.4% in 2024–2025, though it still exceeds district (19.4%) and state (18.3%) averages. One genuinely bright spot: Karns ranks in the 72nd percentile (4 stars) for special education student outcomes — a dramatic one-year jump from the 39th percentile — suggesting recent targeted efforts may be paying off.

1,365

Students ?

14.9

Student/teacher ratio ?

$12,677

Per pupil spending ?

36.3%

Free/discounted lunch ?

2710 Byington Solway Road
Knoxville, TN 37931

(865) 539-8670

District: Knox County Schools

Feeder schools for Karns High School:

Elementary:	Amherst Elementary School
	Karns Elementary School
	Pleasant Ridge Elementary School
Middle:	Karns Middle School

Racial breakdown:

White:

65.1%

Hispanic:

19.9%

African American:

7.8%

See top rated Tennessee high schools

Compare Karns High School to nearby high schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 82nd percentile in 2016 → 50th in 2026

Strengths

✓Above the Tennessee median (50th percentile)

Worth a look

!Dropout rate above the Tennessee average (10% vs 7%)

!Ranking has slipped — down 32 percentile points since 2016

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school38%

District avg45%

Tennessee avg43%

199^th of 400

Tennessee public high schools ?

Top 50%▼ down 32 pts since 2016

From top 18% (2016) to top 50% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Tennessee High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

9^th of 17High Schools in the Knox County Schools

78^th of 141Knox County Schools 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
2026	47.9	199 of 400	50.3%	★★★☆☆
2025	46.4	191 of 389	50.9%	★★★☆☆
2024	37.7	232 of 392	40.8%	★★☆☆☆
2023	45.9	179 of 384	53.4%	★★★☆☆
2022	45.0	182 of 358	49.2%	★★☆☆☆
2021	41.2	189 of 347	45.5%	★★☆☆☆
2019	45.7	164 of 342	52.0%	★★★☆☆
2018	41.8	188 of 341	44.9%	★★☆☆☆
2017	42.1	156 of 273	42.9%	★★☆☆☆
2016	69.2	62 of 351	82.3%	★★★★☆
2015	57.7	146 of 300	51.3%	★★★☆☆
2014	57.6	115 of 296	61.1%	★★★☆☆
2013	55.2	144 of 285	49.5%	★★★☆☆
2012	56.8	143 of 269	46.8%	★★☆☆☆
2011	60.1	122 of 273	55.3%	★★★☆☆
2010	52.5	152 of 267	43.1%	★★☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Tennessee percentile	Rating
2026	36.5	141 of 230	38.7%	★★☆☆☆
2025	37.5	134 of 233	42.5%	★★☆☆☆
2024	37.6	127 of 240	47.1%	★★☆☆☆
2023	38.1	128 of 239	46.4%	★★☆☆☆
2022	44.9	99 of 222	55.4%	★★★☆☆
2021	33.3	132 of 208	36.5%	★★☆☆☆
2019	51.0	67 of 187	64.2%	★★★☆☆
2018	33.7	117 of 199	41.2%	★★☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Tennessee percentile	Rating
2025	47.0	179 of 365	51.0%	★★★☆☆
2024	35.8	236 of 365	35.3%	★★☆☆☆
2023	37.6	230 of 366	37.2%	★★☆☆☆
2022	37.4	222 of 350	36.6%	★★☆☆☆
2021	39.2	199 of 340	41.5%	★★☆☆☆
2019	44.6	175 of 337	48.1%	★★☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Tennessee percentile	Rating
2026	26.4	184 of 229	19.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	27.2	171 of 213	19.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	34.2	147 of 209	29.7%	★★☆☆☆
2023	34.4	133 of 202	34.2%	★★☆☆☆
2022	27.3	147 of 189	22.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	28.3	130 of 180	27.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	23.0	123 of 153	19.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	27.7	125 of 159	21.4%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Tennessee percentile	Rating
2026	42.3	173 of 308	43.8%	★★☆☆☆
2025	39.7	189 of 324	41.7%	★★☆☆☆
2024	34.9	224 of 337	33.5%	★★☆☆☆
2023	29.7	248 of 330	24.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	52.6	114 of 322	64.6%	★★★☆☆
2021	46.8	147 of 317	53.6%	★★★☆☆
2019	41.2	166 of 302	45.0%	★★☆☆☆
2018	39.9	176 of 308	42.9%	★★☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Tennessee percentile	Rating
2025	42.0	203 of 368	44.8%	★★☆☆☆
2024	38.7	212 of 366	42.1%	★★☆☆☆
2023	43.1	177 of 359	50.7%	★★★☆☆
2022	49.9	138 of 349	60.5%	★★★☆☆
2021	39.4	198 of 332	40.4%	★★☆☆☆
2019	45.9	150 of 329	54.4%	★★★☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Tennessee percentile	Rating
2026	53.7	58 of 210	72.4%	★★★★☆
2025	34.2	120 of 198	39.4%	★★☆☆☆
2024	35.8	105 of 183	42.6%	★★☆☆☆
2023	58.8	32 of 154	79.2%	★★★★☆
2022	39.6	81 of 151	46.4%	★★☆☆☆
2021	43.6	58 of 125	53.6%	★★★☆☆
2018	24.7	142 of 159	10.7%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Tennessee percentile	Rating
2026	47.2	158 of 330	52.1%	★★★☆☆
2025	45.7	165 of 323	48.9%	★★☆☆☆
2024	35.5	208 of 326	36.2%	★★☆☆☆
2023	43.7	169 of 325	48.0%	★★☆☆☆
2022	42.6	167 of 312	46.5%	★★☆☆☆
2021	39.3	182 of 306	40.5%	★★☆☆☆
2019	44.4	148 of 301	50.8%	★★★☆☆
2018	41.0	175 of 307	43.0%	★★☆☆☆

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 (2026)72nd percentile+22 vs school

White (2026)52nd percentile~ school

Female (2025)51st percentile~ school

Male (2025)45th percentile-6 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)44th percentile-6 vs school

African American (2026)39th percentile-12 vs school

Hispanic (2026)20th percentile-31 vs school

By subject vs Tennessee (2025-2026) ?

English II57%~ state avg

Biology I57%+7 vs state

US History47%+4 vs state

Geometry36%-7 vs state

English I32%-6 vs state

Algebra II27%-10 vs state

Algebra I10%-22 vs state

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Schools Near Karns High School

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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 (2026)				Ranking (2025)				TNReady Algebra I (2026)					TNReady Algebra II (2026)					TNReady Biology I (2026)					TNReady US History (2026)				TNReady English I (2026)					TNReady English II (2026)					TNReady Geometry (2026)						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 (2020)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	TNReady Algebra I 9th Grade	TNReady Algebra I 10th Grade	TNReady Algebra I 11th Grade	TNReady Algebra I 12th Grade	TNReady Algebra I All Grades	TNReady Algebra II 9th Grade	TNReady Algebra II 10th Grade	TNReady Algebra II 11th Grade	TNReady Algebra II 12th Grade	TNReady Algebra II All Grades	TNReady Biology I 9th Grade	TNReady Biology I 10th Grade	TNReady Biology I 11th Grade	TNReady Biology I 12th Grade	TNReady Biology I All Grades	TNReady US History 10th Grade	TNReady US History 11th Grade	TNReady US History 12th Grade	TNReady US History All Grades	TNReady English I 9th Grade	TNReady English I 10th Grade	TNReady English I 11th Grade	TNReady English I 12th Grade	TNReady English I All Grades	TNReady English II 9th Grade	TNReady English II 10th Grade	TNReady English II 11th Grade	TNReady English II 12th Grade	TNReady English II All Grades	TNReady Geometry 8th Grade	TNReady Geometry 9th Grade	TNReady Geometry 10th Grade	TNReady Geometry 11th Grade	TNReady Geometry 12th Grade	TNReady Geometry All Grades	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Karns High School	Public	9-12	2710 Byington Solway Road	Knoxville	37931	Knox County	Knox County Schools	No	No	No	No	(865) 539-8670	1,341	90	14.9	36.3%	906 (67.6%)	111 (8.3%)	235 (17.5%)	10 (0.7%)	6 (0.4%)	1 (0.1%)	72 (5.4%)	47.9	199^th of 400 public high schools	50.3%		46.4	191^st of 389 public high schools	50.9%	8	10.5	6.7			10.2		74.1	17.4	< 5%	27.3		77.9	49.2		57.2		47.1		46.9	31.7				31.7		58.6			57.5		93.1	29.4	36.4		35.6	$12,677	$897	$11,349
Hardin Valley Academy	Public	9-12	11345 Hardin Valley Road	Knoxville	37932	Knox County	Knox County Schools	No	No	No	No	(865) 690-9690	2,043	123	16.6	21.2%	1,441 (70.5%)	118 (5.8%)	288 (14.1%)	82 (4.0%)	3 (0.1%)	9 (0.4%)	102 (5.0%)	68	94^th of 400 public high schools	76.5%		67.2	85^th of 389 public high schools	78.1%	9	27.1	< 5%			25.6		92.6	21.6		40.9		79.4	48.0		61.3		44.4	58.3	44.8	50.8				50.5		69.6	6.7		67.1		≥ 95%	39.9	10.7		54.1	$11,388	$708	$10,399
Bearden High School	Public	9-12	8352 Kingston Pike	Knoxville	37919	Knox County	Knox County Schools	No	No	No	No	(865) 539-7800	2,008	114	17.5	20.8%	1,421 (70.8%)	172 (8.6%)	247 (12.3%)	61 (3.0%)	2 (0.1%)	3 (0.1%)	102 (5.1%)	68.5	92^nd of 400 public high schools	77.0%		69.4	81^st of 389 public high schools	79.2%	11	21.7	5.0			20.5	≥ 95%	94.8	32.3	< 5%	50.0	92.8	53.3	46.8	28.6	61.1		42.6		42.3	48.1				47.4		74.1	12.5		71.2		93.4	39.8	20.0		51.1	$11,936	$819	$10,844
Farragut High School	Public	9-12	11237 Kingston Pike	Knoxville	37922	Knox County	Knox County Schools	No	No	No	No	(865) 966-9775	2,091	113	18.5	8.2%	1,601 (76.6%)	58 (2.8%)	145 (6.9%)	208 (9.9%)	2 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	77 (3.7%)	89	21^st of 400 public high schools	94.8%		92.4	13^th of 389 public high schools	96.7%	8	43.6				42.3	≥ 95%	≥ 95%	54.3		70.7	75.5	31.3	45.6	20.0	66.5		71.5		71.5	64.5				64.3		86.2			85.0	≥ 95%	≥ 95%	59.6			72.7	$10,955	$759	$10,036
Powell High School	Public	9-12	2136 West Emory Road	Powell	37849	Knox County	Knox County Schools	No	No	No	No	(865) 938-2171	1,292	80	16.1	40.1%	868 (67.2%)	111 (8.6%)	223 (17.3%)	23 (1.8%)	2 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	65 (5.0%)	48	198^th of 400 public high schools	50.5%		51.2	171^st of 389 public high schools	56.0%	27	17.0	7.7			16.5		83.8	27.8	< 5%	34.2		71.9	45.8		51.7		44.0		44.0	30.3				30.3		53.7			51.5		85.3	23.4		9.1	30.3	$13,352	$906	$11,906
Oak Ridge High School	Public	9-12	1450 Oak Ridge Turnpike	Oak Ridge	37830	Anderson County	Oak Ridge Schools	No	No	No	No	(865) 425-9601	1,586	103	15.3	35.9%	1,097 (69.2%)	168 (10.6%)	177 (11.2%)	45 (2.8%)	4 (0.3%)	4 (0.3%)	91 (5.7%)	70.2	85^th of 400 public high schools	78.8%		75.2	56^th of 389 public high schools	85.6%	29	41.6	< 5%			37.0	≥ 95%	78.8	21.5	5.9	46.3	87.4	35.3	45.0		58.4		62.9		62.7	48.5	20.0			46.9		67.1	12.5		64.8		≥ 95%	41.7	7.7		52.0	$14,330	$505	$13,356
Clinton High School	Public	9-12	425 Dragon Drive	Clinton	37716	Anderson County	Anderson County Schools	No	No	No	No	(865) 457-2611	1,073	73	14.7	44.7%	933 (87.0%)	40 (3.7%)	61 (5.7%)	3 (0.3%)	4 (0.4%)	3 (0.3%)	29 (2.7%)	56.7	146^th of 400 public high schools	63.5%		58.5	134^th of 389 public high schools	65.6%	12	33.8				32.1		82.8	19.8	10.0	28.4	≥ 95%	34.8	28.6		55.0		53.8	46.7	53.3	31.7	< 5%			30.0		57.0			55.4		≥ 95%	43.8			47.3	$12,920	$574	$11,933
West High School	Public, Magnet	9-12	3300 Sutherland Avenue	Knoxville	37919	Knox County	Knox County Schools	No	Yes	No	No	(865) 594-4477	1,509	88	17.0	34.3%	876 (58.1%)	312 (20.7%)	196 (13.0%)	34 (2.3%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (0.3%)	86 (5.7%)	60.2	125^th of 400 public high schools	68.8%		62.6	108^th of 389 public high schools	72.2%	17	11.7	< 5%			10.7		89.0	17.1	9.1	44.7	83.8	70.4	29.4	10.0	61.7		49.3		49.1	56.0				54.8		67.9			65.9		≥ 95%	26.4	7.7		48.4	$12,616	$827	$11,481
Dr. Paul L. Kelley Volunteer Academy	Public	9-12	535 Chickamauga Avenue Avenue	Knoxville	37917	Knox County	Knox County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(865) 525-0069	72	10	7.2		39 (54.2%)	20 (27.8%)	10 (13.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (4.2%)	6.9	391^st of 400 public high schools	2.3%					(n/a)								< 5%	< 5%	< 5%			< 5%	10.0	6.1		5.9		< 5%			< 5%		< 5%									< 5%		< 5%	$34,515	$1,011	$33,156
L N STEM Academy	Public, Magnet	9-12	800 World's Fair Park Drive	Knoxville	37902	Knox County	Knox County Schools	No	Yes	No	No	(865) 329-8440	581	33	17.4	13.9%	457 (78.7%)	28 (4.8%)	39 (6.7%)	27 (4.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	30 (5.2%)	98.2	3^rd of 400 public high schools	99.3%		89.2	23^rd of 389 public high schools	94.1%	20	54.0				54.7		≥ 95%	56.2		77.5		≥ 95%	85.9		92.6		88.6		88.6	83.4				83.6		93.0			93.1		≥ 95%	64.1			83.4	$12,335	$744	$11,269

Frequently Asked Questions about Karns High School

Is Karns High School a good school?

Karns High School ranks 199^th of 400 Tennessee high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Karns High School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 1,365 students attended Karns High School.

What is the racial makeup of Karns High School?

Students at Karns High School are 65% White, 20% Hispanic, 8% African American, 5% Two or more races, 1% Asian.

What district is Karns High School in?

Knox County Schools

What schools feed into Karns High School?

Karns High School is fed by the following schools:

Elementary : Amherst Elementary School
Elementary : Karns Elementary School
Elementary : Pleasant Ridge Elementary School
Middle : Karns Middle School

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Latest Tennessee data All new data »

2025–26 TNReady test scoresAug 25, 2026

2024–25 dropout ratesApr 2, 2026

2024–25 school spending dataFeb 27, 2026

2024–25 attendance dataDec 18, 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.