Summary:
Zip code 37902 is served by a single public high school, L N STEM Academy, part of Knox County Schools, serving grades 9–12 with 588 students. This school is a true standout, ranking 3rd out of 400 Tennessee high schools for 2025–2026, placing it in the 99th percentile with a 5-star rating. It improved from 23rd the previous year and 14th the year before, showing consistent elite performance. The school’s graduation rate is 97.6%, far above the district’s 90.4% and the state’s 90.5%, while its dropout rate of 2.4% is well below the 6.7% average seen across both Knox County and Tennessee. Chronic absenteeism is also notably low at 10.6%, roughly half the district rate of 19.4%, indicating a highly engaged student body.
Academically, L N STEM Academy excels across nearly every subject. On 2025–2026 TNReady tests, Biology I proficiency reached 92.6% versus 49.8% statewide, Algebra II hit 77.5% compared to 37.3% statewide, and Geometry reached 83.4% versus 42.3% statewide. Humanities results are just as strong: English II proficiency is 93.1%, English I is 83.6%, and US History is 88.6%, all roughly double or more than double state averages. The most remarkable change is Algebra I, which jumped from 26.7% proficiency in 2024–2025 to 54.7% in 2025–2026, a 28-point improvement that moved the school from below state averages to well above them. Grade-specific data shows some variation—10th-grade Geometry proficiency is 64.1% and 11th-grade Algebra II is 56.2%—but both remain far ahead of district and state peers.
Because this is the only school in the zip code, all insights apply directly to L N STEM Academy. The school clearly lives up to its STEM-focused name, but its strength in English and history shows a well-rounded academic culture rather than a narrow specialty. Knox County Schools as a whole is a mid-tier district, yet this school outperforms its district by enormous margins—often by 30 to 50 percentage points—making it a distinct outlier. No free/reduced lunch or student–teacher ratio data was available, so socioeconomic factors and class sizes could not be assessed. Per-student spending is $12,335, but without district or state comparisons, it is hard to judge whether that is high or low. For parents, L N STEM Academy is unmistakably one of Tennessee’s top high schools, with outstanding test scores, graduation rates, and attendance.
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