Best Public Schools in Zip Code 37030

ZIP code 37030 covers the Carthage, Tennessee area and contains five schools in the Smith County Schools district, serving pre-kindergarten through 12th grade with a total enrollment of 1,786 students. The district itself is ranked 45th out of 141 Tennessee districts (three stars), but school performance varies widely, from a 1-star elementary to a 4-star middle school.

The strongest academic performers are Defeated Elementary School and Smith County Middle School. Defeated Elementary, a PK-8 school, leads the area in ELA (50.6% proficient) and social studies (63.5%), while also having the lowest chronic absenteeism rate at just 5.6%. Smith County Middle has shown the most improvement, jumping from the 40th percentile in 2023-24 to the 74th percentile in 2025-26, and now exceeds state averages in math, science, and social studies. Smith County High School excels in Biology I, English II, and US History, but struggles with Algebra I (20.8% proficient) and has a graduation rate of 85.3%, below both district and state averages. On the other end, Carthage Elementary School is the lowest-ranked school in the area (28th percentile, 1 star) and falls below state averages in every subject, while Union Heights Elementary School is notably weak in social studies (38.2%) and ELA (31.8%).

There are several clear takeaways for parents. The wide spread in performance within one small district suggests school choice matters here: Defeated Elementary outperforms Union Heights dramatically despite nearly identical enrollments and grade configurations. Chronic absenteeism is not a problem — every school is well below the state rate of 18.3%. However, grade-level trouble spots are visible, including 8th grade ELA at Smith County Middle (26.1%) and 3rd grade math at Union Heights (25.0%), which likely feed into the high school's low Algebra I scores. Per-student spending does not seem to drive results, as Defeated Elementary spends less than Carthage yet achieves far better outcomes. Overall, this area offers some excellent schools, but families should be aware of the significant differences in academic performance and middle school transition patterns.