Summary:
ZIP code 38220 is served by a single high school, West Carroll Junior/Senior High School in Atwood, TN, which enrolls 302 students in grades 7–12 as part of the West Carroll Special School District. Because there is only one school in this area, all local students attend this combined junior/senior high, and its results represent the entire community.
The school’s strongest results are in keeping students on track: the graduation rate is 97.9% (state: 90.5%), the dropout rate is just 2.1% (state: 6.7%), and chronic absenteeism is 12.8% (state: 18.3%). However, academic proficiency is mostly below state averages. In the 2025–2026 school year, only 27.5% of students were proficient in ELA (state: 40.6%) and 34.7% in math (state: 43.0%). Algebra I is a particular concern, with just 11.5% proficient versus 32.3% statewide, and 8th grade ELA proficiency is only 18.2% compared to 32.3% statewide. The school’s statewide rank has slipped from the 34th percentile in 2023–2024 to the 25th percentile in 2025–2026, even though some scores improved, meaning other schools are progressing faster.
There are notable bright spots and puzzling gaps. Seventh graders outperform the state in social studies (66.0% vs. 56.0%) and slightly in ELA (38.3% vs. 35.9%), but 8th graders fall far behind in both subjects, suggesting a challenging transition year or a weak cohort. English II proficiency is strong at 56.3% versus English I at just 15.4%, and Biology I dropped sharply from 51.1% above the state in 2024–2025 to 28.9% below the state in 2025–2026. Per-student spending is $15,563, a meaningful investment that hasn’t yet translated into consistently strong academic outcomes. For parents, this school does an excellent job of keeping students engaged and graduating, but foundational academic skills—especially in Algebra I and early high school English—will need focused attention to reverse the declining ranking.
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