Best High Schools in Zip Code 38478

Zip code 38478, which covers the Pulaski, Tennessee area, is served by a single public high school: Giles County High School, a mid-sized school enrolling 688 students in grades 9 through 12 and operating as part of the Giles County Schools district. Since this is the only high school in the area, the entire analysis centers on this one campus, which carries a 1-star state rating and has ranked in the bottom quarter of Tennessee high schools for the past three years, though it did improve slightly from the 18th to the 24th percentile in the most recent ranking cycle.

Parents should know that Giles County High School graduates a strong share of its students—96.0% earned a diploma in 2024–2025, well above the state average of 90.5%—but the school's academic proficiency numbers tell a more complicated story. Test scores trail state averages in nearly every subject, with the widest gaps appearing in U.S. History (12.5% proficient vs. 42.4% statewide), Algebra I (9.9% vs. 32.3%), and Geometry (21.1% vs. 42.3%). English II is the school's strongest tested subject at 46.9% proficiency, yet it still falls 11.2 points below the state. The most concerning non-academic metric is chronic absenteeism: 23.4% of students are chronically absent, compared to 18.3% statewide and 14.1% in the district, a gap that likely undermines classroom performance and helps explain the low proficiency rates.

There are encouraging signs, however. Between the 2024–2025 and 2025–2026 school years, proficiency jumped by 10.2 points in Biology I, 10.1 points in Geometry, and 7.4 points in English II. A standout bright spot is 9th-grade Biology I, where 67.6% of students are proficient—above the state average of 65.8%. Algebra I and U.S. History, by contrast, slipped slightly year over year, and the district-wide U.S. History score (12.5%) is identical to the school's, suggesting this weakness is systemic to Giles County rather than unique to the high school. With per-student spending of $11,759 and a graduation rate that exceeds state norms, Giles County High School has a solid foundation; boosting attendance and shoring up math and history instruction will be key to raising its overall ranking and test outcomes.