Schools in Zip Code 38549

In zip code 38549 (Byrdstown, TN), a small rural area, all students are served by just two schools in the Pickett County Schools district: Pickett County Elementary School, which covers grades PK–8 with 415 students, and Pickett County High School, which covers grades 9–12 with 190 students. There are no standalone middle schools or alternative schools. Although the district ranks 114th of 141 Tennessee districts with a 1-star rating, both individual schools earned 2-star ratings most recently, indicating the district rating masks some local strengths.

The two schools have very different strengths. Pickett County Elementary School outperforms the state in Social Studies across every tested grade, with an all-grades proficiency of 53.6% versus the state's 51.4%, and it also has a standout 4th grade class scoring above state averages in math and science. Its rank improved from 725th to 628th in Tennessee. The biggest concern is middle-grade math: proficiency falls from 52.4% in 4th grade to just 9.4% in 7th and 12.8% in 8th grade, a 43-point collapse. Pickett County High School excels at keeping students in school, graduating 92.3% of students with a mere 1.9% dropout rate, both better than state averages, yet its test scores lag behind the state in every subject.

Chronic absenteeism is a systemic concern, affecting 20.2% of elementary students and 23.0% of high schoolers, both above the state's 18.3%. Year-to-year test scores at the high school are volatile—Algebra I jumped from 6.7% to 23.1% while Biology I fell from 59.1% to 36.1%—likely reflecting small cohort effects at this 190-student school. Spending is modest and nearly equal at both schools (about $12,300 per student). Overall, families will find an elementary school with genuine academic bright spots but a serious math weakness in middle grades, and a high school that successfully graduates its students despite below-average proficiency.