Summary
Norwood Elementary School is a PK-5 school in Knoxville, Tennessee, serving 471 students within Knox County Schools. For the 2025-2026 school year, Norwood ranked 907th out of 1,019 Tennessee elementary schools, placing it in the 11th percentile with a one-star rating. This has not been a one-year blip — over the past decade, the school has mostly sat in the bottom 10–20% of the state, with its best recent year in 2017-2018 at the 40th percentile. Nearby schools show a stark contrast: Beaumont Elementary/Magnet School ranks in the 65th percentile, Powell Elementary School in the 62nd, and Sterchi Elementary School in the 60th.
Academic proficiency runs roughly half the district and state averages. Math proficiency is 22.9% versus 45.0% districtwide; ELA is 21.8% versus 44.7%; and science is 20.4% versus 50.9% — the largest gap of all. Grade-level results also reveal a steep drop-off: 4th graders are Norwood's strongest, but 5th grade scores collapse, with just 11.5% proficient in science. Chronic absenteeism is another serious issue, affecting 24.5% of students versus 19.4% districtwide and 18.3% statewide. Notably, Norwood spends $15,943 per student — more than higher-performing neighbors Powell ($12,580), Sterchi ($13,387), and Beaumont ($15,438) — yet results remain flat.
Norwood is part of a cluster of low-performing schools in the area, including West View Elementary School, Pond Gap Elementary School, Inskip Elementary School, Lonsdale Elementary School, and West Haven Elementary School, all ranking in the bottom 6–15% statewide. But within that group, Norwood is distinct for its science weakness, posting the lowest science proficiency of any non-magnet, non-virtual school nearby. Spending has risen roughly $3,600 per student since 2021-2022 without meaningful gains. The school's strongest area is with African American students, and its 4th-grade uptick offers a small sign of promise, but overall the picture is one of urgent need — particularly in science, in 5th grade, and for the student subgroups left furthest behind.
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