Perry County High School

Perry County High School is a small rural public high school in Linden, Tennessee, serving 273 students in grades 9–12 within the Perry County Schools district. After several consecutive years of low statewide rankings, the school has climbed to the 41st percentile and earned a 2-star rating for 2025–2026 — its best showing since 2018–2019.

The school's standout strength is its graduation rate: 98.1% of students graduated in 2024–2025, with a dropout rate of just 1.9%. That beats every nearby school in the comparison group, including Riverside High School (89.8%), Lewis County High School (90.1%), and Volunteer State Virtual Academy (71.2%). Perry has held its graduation rate at or above 95% for four straight years. Academically, the school leads the region in U.S. History, with 44.6% of students scoring proficient — better than the state average of 42.4% and well ahead of Lewis County (32.6%) and Riverside (27.0%). English I results are also solid at 39.7%, essentially tied with Riverside and slightly above the state average. Perhaps most encouraging, students from low-income households jumped from the 8th percentile statewide to the 63rd percentile in the most recent year.

The biggest challenge is math. Only 13.4% of students scored proficient in Algebra I, and just 12.2% in Algebra II — both less than half the state rates. Geometry is better at 27.9% but still about 14 points below the state average. Chronic absenteeism has also been an issue, though it has improved dramatically from 65.9% in 2021–2022 to 20.4% in 2024–2025. Notably, Perry spends $14,285 per student — more than Riverside ($12,144) or Lewis County ($12,229) — yet those resources haven't yet closed the math gap. Still, with rising test scores, a 2-star rating, and near-perfect graduation rates, Perry County High School appears to be building real momentum.