Summary:
ZIP code 37206 in Nashville, TN is served by 11 schools in the Metro Nashville Public Schools district, spanning elementary through high school and serving roughly 4,346 students. The district overall ranks 126th out of 141 Tennessee districts, but that ranking hides dramatic variation within this ZIP code, which contains some of the highest-performing schools in the state alongside several that struggle significantly.
At the top, Lockeland Elementary School is ranked #2 among 1,019 Tennessee elementary schools with 93.3% math and 90.9% ELA proficiency, while Meigs Middle School ranks #1 among 594 middle schools with 94.2% math proficiency and just 7.0% chronic absenteeism. Nashville Classical East School and Rosebank Elementary School are strong 4-star performers with chronic absenteeism around 13.8%, and East Nashville Magnet High School posts a 95.6% graduation rate — far above the district's 83.4% and the state's 90.5%. At the other extreme, Hattie Cotton Elementary School, East Nashville Middle School, and Cora Howe School have proficiency rates in the single digits or low twenties, creating a math achievement gap of more than 80 percentage points between the highest- and lowest-performing schools in the same ZIP code.
Spending does not predict performance: top-ranked Meigs and Lockeland spend roughly $15,800–$16,600 per student, while Cora Howe spends $62,100 per student with single-digit proficiency. Chronic absenteeism generally tracks outcomes, though East Nashville Middle's 15.1% rate is an outlier given its low test scores. Middle school is a critical transition point — Nashville Classical East School's 3rd grade ELA proficiency of 81.4% falls to 21.3% by 7th grade, and Explore Community School's 5th grade math proficiency of 50.8% drops to just 7.9% by 7th grade. Encouragingly, nearly every school in 37206 improved its state ranking over the past two years, suggesting momentum even where significant gaps persist.
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