Best High Schools in Zip Code 37220

In zip code 37220, there is just one public high school, John Overton High School, a large 9–12 campus serving roughly 1,942 students as part of Metro Nashville Public Schools, a district ranked in the bottom 11% of Tennessee districts.

John Overton High School faces significant challenges. Its graduation rate is just 73.7% compared to 90.5% statewide, and its dropout rate of 24.6% is nearly four times the state average. Chronic absenteeism affects 32.6% of students, a major red flag for learning and retention. Academically, the school trails Tennessee in every TNReady subject: US History proficiency is only 16.7% versus 42.4% statewide, English II is 39.6% versus 58.1%, and Integrated Math I sits at 12.4%, about 18 points below the state. Spending per student is $15,984, yet outcomes remain below district and state averages, pointing to resource-effectiveness rather than funding alone.

There are noteworthy bright spots. Students on accelerated tracks perform exceptionally well: 10th graders taking Integrated Math III reached 90.3% proficiency, far above the state’s 81.8%, and 9th graders in Biology I scored 67.3% proficient, beating the district and nearly matching the state. However, the same subjects show weak results for on-level or repeated cohorts — 10th-grade Biology I proficiency is just 24.9%, and 11th-grade Integrated Math III is only 15.3%. Year-over-year gains in Biology I (+11.6 points), English II (+8.6), and Integrated Math II (+6.6) suggest progress, though English I fell 4.2 points. The school’s biggest academic weakness is US History, and its biggest overall challenge is chronic absenteeism. John Overton High School has clear pockets of strong achievement to build on, but the overall picture shows a school in need of targeted support to raise proficiency, improve graduation, and reduce absenteeism.