Best Public Schools in Zip Code 38134

ZIP code 38134 contains 7 schools serving 6,158 students across elementary, middle, and high school grades, and it is defined by a stark split between the top-ranked Bartlett City Schools district and the low-ranked Memphis-Shelby County Schools district. The three Bartlett schools — Altruria Elementary School, Elmore Park Middle School, and Bartlett High School — serve 4,289 students and are all rated in the 74th percentile or higher, while the four MSCS schools serve 1,869 students and mostly rank in the 1st to 20th percentile. This makes 38134 a microcosm of educational inequality in the Memphis area.

Altruria Elementary School is the academic standout, ranking 81st percentile with math proficiency of 61.6% and chronic absenteeism of just 13.3%. Bartlett High School excels in graduation outcomes with a 94.8% graduation rate, though Algebra I proficiency (25.4%) lags the state. Among MSCS schools, Shelby Oaks Elementary School is the most improved, rising from the 14th to 34th percentile, with a particularly strong 3rd-grade cohort that beats state averages. Memphis Business Academy Middle School has also climbed from the 9th to 20th percentile and now has 8th-grade math proficiency near the state average. At the other end, Raleigh-Bartlett Meadows Elementary School ranks in the 1st percentile with math proficiency of just 9.4% and chronic absenteeism of 41.8% — meaning 2 in 5 students are chronically absent.

Notably, higher spending does not equal higher performance: MSCS schools spend about $1,870 more per student on average than Bartlett schools, yet test scores are dramatically lower. Raleigh-Bartlett Meadows spends the most per student ($16,030) while ranking last. Chronic absenteeism tracks almost perfectly with low achievement across all seven schools. For parents, the choice of district matters immensely in this ZIP code — Bartlett schools consistently deliver strong results, while MSCS schools face serious challenges, though Shelby Oaks and Memphis Business Academy are showing meaningful improvement worth watching.