Summary:
Zip code 37042 in Clarksville, Tennessee, is home to three public high schools — West Creek High School, Northwest High School, and Kenwood High School — all serving grades 9–12 within the Clarksville-Montgomery County Schools district, which ranks 43rd out of 141 districts in Tennessee. The three schools enroll roughly 4,300 students combined, and while they share the same district, each has a distinct profile that families should weigh carefully.
Northwest High School is the academic leader of the group, ranked #142 in the state and improving each of the past two years. It is the only school in the zip code to exceed the state average in overall test proficiency (44.9% vs. 42.8%), with standout results in US History (68.6% proficient) and Geometry (47.2%). West Creek High School ranks next at #194 but boasts the highest graduation rate (93.1%) and lowest dropout rate (2.7%) in the area — students clearly persist there, even though proficiency in Algebra I (12.9%) and English I (32.9%) remains low. Kenwood High School sits at #236 with the lowest graduation rate (83.4%), yet it posted the largest year-over-year gains in Algebra II, Geometry, and US History, making it the fastest-improving school in the zip code.
All three schools share two urgent challenges: Algebra I proficiency is critically low (12.9% to 19.7% vs. 32.3% statewide), and chronic absenteeism runs from 22.1% to 25.8% — well above the district rate of 15.1% and state rate of 18.3%. Notably, Kenwood spends the most per student ($12,310) yet has the lowest test scores, while West Creek spends the least ($10,974) but graduates the highest percentage of students. For parents, the bottom line is that Northwest offers the strongest academics, West Creek is the safest bet for on-time graduation, and Kenwood, despite being lowest-ranked, is a school on the rise.
Thank you for your feedback!