Summary:
Zip code 37404 in Chattanooga, TN is served by 8 schools in the Hamilton County Schools district, including 4 elementary schools, 2 middle schools, and 2 high schools that actually serve grades 6–12. Overall, this is an academically challenged area where most schools rank in the bottom 4–13% statewide, with proficiency rates running roughly 20–30 points behind Tennessee averages in math, ELA, and science.
The clearest standout is Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy (CGLA), the only school in the zip above the state median. It has a 55th-percentile rank, a 96.7% graduation rate, and strong Algebra I proficiency (54.7% vs. 32.3% statewide). By contrast, Chattanooga Preparatory School also graduates 98% of its students but posts the lowest ELA proficiency in the zip (9.3%). Among elementary schools, East Side Elementary is the strongest, with 29.6% math proficiency and the lowest chronic absenteeism in the entire list (5.0%). The other three elementaries — Orchard Knob Elementary, Montessori Elementary at Highland Park, and Chattanooga Charter School of Excellence — all rank in the bottom 4% and have math proficiency between 11–15%.
The most urgent concern is Orchard Knob Middle School: 47.5% of students are chronically absent, math proficiency is just 5.6%, and it spends the most per student ($24,512) of any school here. Its counterpart, Chattanooga Charter School of Excellence Middle, is also struggling with 22.4% absenteeism and 12.5% math proficiency. Absenteeism clearly tracks with outcomes: schools above 20% chronic absenteeism all have math scores below 16%, while those below 8% — East Side, Chatt Prep, CGLA, and Montessori — perform notably better. Even so, high spending does not guarantee results, and grade-level swings within schools are large (East Side's 5th-grade math hits 47.1% while 4th-grade math is only 14.6%). For parents, CGLA is the safest bet academically, while East Side is the strongest elementary for attendance and relative performance.
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