Hillsboro High School

Hillsboro High School is a large public high school in Nashville, Tennessee, serving 1,224 students in grades 9–12 as part of Metro Nashville Public Schools. The school currently ranks 276th of 400 Tennessee high schools, placing it in the 31st percentile with a two-star rating. That ranking has been remarkably stable for a decade, though the school's profile is more nuanced than the star rating alone suggests: graduation rates are a clear strength, while chronic absenteeism is a serious concern.

The most encouraging numbers at Hillsboro are around graduation and dropout rates. Its 2024–25 graduation rate was 90.8%, well above the 83.4% district rate and nearly even with the state, while its 7.0% dropout rate was far better than the district's 15.2%. The contrast with nearby John Overton High School is striking: Overton's graduation rate was just 73.7% and its dropout rate 24.6%. Hillsboro also shows a bright spot in English, with 56.4% of students proficient in English II. However, math and science lag badly—only 9.5% are proficient in Integrated Math I—and roughly one in three students is chronically absent, a rate nearly double the state's.

The school's effectiveness also varies widely across student subgroups. While some student groups perform reasonably well, low-income students rank in the bottom 5% statewide, and other historically underserved groups fall well below average. Hillsboro spends about $15,960 per student, more than nearby Martin Luther King Junior School, but that gap does not translate into stronger results. Families considering Hillsboro should weigh its genuine strengths—strong graduation outcomes and solid English instruction—against the attendance challenges and weak math and science scores. Nearby options like Early College High School post far higher proficiency rates, though they serve different admissions populations. For many families, Hillsboro is a reasonable neighborhood choice, but one worth evaluating subject by subject.