Sumner County Middle Technical College High School at Portla

Sumner County Middle Technical College High School at Portla is a small, specialized school in Portland, TN, serving just 26 students in grades 11 and 12 as part of the highly regarded Sumner County Schools district. The school offers a middle-college/technical pathway for upperclassmen seeking an alternative to traditional high school.

Academically, however, the school's outcomes lag well behind district and state averages. In 2025-2026, Algebra II proficiency was just 14.3% compared to 46.8% for the district and 37.3% statewide, and US History proficiency was 25.0% versus 55.7% for the district and 42.4% for the state. The most recent graduation rate (2022-2023) was 73.3%, far below the district's 93.2% and the state's 86.5%. The dropout rate of 6.7% was higher than the district's 1.3% but below the state's 8.1%. The school earned a 1-star rating, ranking 325th out of 400 Tennessee high schools (19th percentile).

This puts it in stark contrast to nearby Portland High School, just 1.42 miles away, which ranks 132nd (67th percentile, 3 stars) with a 90.6% graduation rate and far higher proficiency rates. One clear bright spot is attendance: the school's chronic absenteeism rate was just 7.7% in 2024-2025, well below the district's 12.2%, the state's 18.3%, and Portland High's 18.5%. With a student-teacher ratio of 6.4 and per-student spending of $8,275, the school offers small class sizes and individualized attention, yet these advantages have not translated into stronger academic outcomes. Given the tiny enrollment, results can swing significantly from year to year, so parents should interpret this data with some caution—but the overall pattern suggests a school that keeps students coming to class while struggling to move the academic needle.