Summary
Whittle Springs Middle School serves 466 students in grades 6–8 in Knoxville, TN, as part of Knox County Schools, a district ranked in the middle tier of Tennessee districts. The school has historically placed in the lower tier of Tennessee middle schools, but it has shown meaningful improvement over the past several years, climbing from the 15th percentile statewide in 2021-22 to the 28th percentile in 2025-26.
Academically, proficiency rates remain below district and state averages in most subjects, but the gains are significant. Since 2022-23, math proficiency has risen from 15.3% to 22.4%, English language arts from 12.1% to 22.0%, science from 26.4% to 36.9%, and social studies from 25.7% to 40.6%. Compared to nearby middle schools, Whittle Springs outperforms Northwest Middle School and Vine Middle/Magnet School in math and ELA, sits at a similar level to Holston Middle School, and trails Gresham Middle School, Halls Middle School, and Powell Middle School. One notable bright spot is 7th grade science, where proficiency reached 54.3%—above both the district and state averages.
The school also stands out operationally. Chronic absenteeism has been cut nearly in half, from 41.6% in 2021-22 to 22.6% in 2024-25, which is the lowest rate among all nearby brick-and-mortar middle schools. Per-pupil spending of $16,459 is among the highest in the comparison group, though it has not yet translated into academic outcomes on par with schools like Powell or Halls, which spend considerably less. Subgroup performance has also improved substantially over the past two years, with low-income students, Hispanic students, African American students, and English language learners all making notable percentile gains. The main area of concern is 8th grade, where scores drop sharply across nearly every subject, and Algebra I proficiency among 8th graders (53.8%) trails the district (83.2%) and state (88.3%). Overall, Whittle Springs is a school in transition, showing real momentum but still working to close the gap with higher-performing neighbors.
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