Summary:
Zip code 37879 is served by one middle school, Soldiers Memorial Middle School, which serves grades 5 through 8 in Tazewell, Tennessee, within the Claiborne County Schools district. Because this is the only middle school in the area, the focus is on how this school compares to district and state averages, and how its own students perform across grade levels and subjects.
Soldiers Memorial Middle School ranks in the bottom 12–14% of Tennessee middle schools, earning a 1-star rating for three consecutive years. In the 2025–2026 school year, only 16.4% of students were proficient in math, 19.4% in ELA, 26.7% in science, and 17.6% in social studies — all well below district and state proficiency rates. The largest gap is in social studies, where the school trails the state by nearly 34 percentage points. Math proficiency also dropped sharply from 22.8% to 16.4% in a single year. While science is the school’s strongest subject and shows slight improvement, the overall picture is one of significant academic challenges.
There are a few bright spots. Fifth graders performed relatively well in math, with 30.9% proficiency — actually above the district average of 26.9% — and 5th grade ELA nearly matched the district. However, proficiency declines sharply as students advance: 8th grade math proficiency falls to just 9.6%, and ELA drops to 13.3%. Chronic absenteeism is a serious concern, with 25.5% of students chronically absent compared to 18.3% statewide, which likely contributes to lower achievement. The school spends $13,107 per student, but that investment has not yet translated into higher performance. For parents, the key takeaway is that Soldiers Memorial Middle School struggles overall, but the relatively strong 5th grade results and gains in science suggest targeted support for upper-grade students and improved attendance could help turn things around.
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