Summary:
Zip code 37406 in Chattanooga, TN is home to two high schools serving grades 9-12 — STEM School Chattanooga and Hamilton County Collegiate High at Chattanooga State — both part of Hamilton County Schools and sharing the same campus at 4501 Amnicola Highway. Together they serve about 437 students, and despite their district ranking only 81st out of 141 Tennessee districts, both schools are elite performers.
Hamilton County Collegiate High at Chattanooga State is the higher-ranked of the two, placing 9th in the state for 2025-2026 (98th percentile, 5 stars). This early-college program excels especially in Algebra II, with a 90.2% proficiency rate — nearly 2.5 times the state average of 37.3% and 25.9 percentage points ahead of STEM School Chattanooga (64.3%). STEM School Chattanooga is also a top-20 school, ranked 19th in the state (95th percentile, 5 stars), with standout scores in English II (87.3% proficient), Geometry (83.1%), and Biology I (71.6%). However, STEM School shows a surprising weak spot in Algebra I, where only 27.7% of students are proficient — below both the district (36.5%) and state (32.3%) averages.
Both schools boast a 98.4% graduation rate and a 1.6% dropout rate, dramatically better than the district (93.5% and 4.9%) and state (90.5% and 6.7%) averages. STEM School also reports a chronic absenteeism rate of just 9.5%, about half the district and state rates. Per-student spending differs notably: STEM School spends $16,773 per student versus $12,567 at Collegiate High, yet the lower-spending school actually achieves a higher state rank. Data gaps remain — Collegiate High reports only Algebra II test scores, and neither school reports free/reduced lunch percentages — but the clear takeaway is that zip code 37406 is home to two 5-star public high schools that far outpace their district and state peers.
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