Best Public Schools in Zip Code 37683

Zip code 37683 covers Mountain City, Tennessee, and contains five schools — three elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school — serving 1,846 students in grades PK–12. All five schools belong to Johnson County Schools, a district ranked in the bottom 4% of Tennessee districts. The schools are Johnson County High School (563 students), Mountain City Elementary School (428), Roan Creek Elementary School (343), Johnson County Middle School (281), and Doe Elementary School (231). Despite the district's low overall rating, individual school performance varies considerably.

For parents comparing schools, Johnson County Middle School stands out as the strongest overall performer, ranking in the 48th percentile statewide with about 38.4% average proficiency. Its social studies scores beat the state average (59.2% vs. 51.4%). Mountain City Elementary School is the best elementary option, with the lowest chronic absenteeism rate (6.9%) and 4th grade scores that match or exceed state averages in math, ELA, and science. However, it has dropped from the 74th to the 34th percentile in two years. Johnson County High School improved from the 31st to the 44th percentile this year, with solid US History and English II results, but its math scores remain weak — Algebra I, Geometry, and Algebra II all trail state averages by 8 to 20 points.

The most urgent issue across all five schools is math proficiency, which trails state averages at nearly every grade level. A clear pattern shows 4th grade as the strongest year and 6th grade as a sharp decline — Doe Elementary School's 6th grade has just 8.7% proficiency in both math and ELA. Chronic absenteeism also rises with grade level, from 6.9% at Mountain City Elementary School to 23.3% at the high school, which has an 80.4% graduation rate versus 90.5% statewide. Higher spending does not produce better outcomes: Roan Creek Elementary School and Doe Elementary School, the two lowest-ranked schools, spend the most per student. The bright spots — middle school social studies, 4th grade cohorts, and the high school's improvement — show that students here can perform at or near state levels, but math and the middle school transition need urgent attention.