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1 / 25#25. Oliver Springs High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Roane County School District, TN
- Enrollment: 268 (15:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B
Best high schools in the Knoxville metro area
According to the latest data from the National Center for Education Statistics, 15.5 million students attend public high school every year, and more than 3.76 million are expected to graduate in 2025. However, those students have a wide variety of experiences over the course of their high school careers.
To start, issues surrounding equal educational access persist throughout the United States. A January 2025 report published in Frontiers found that disparities across socioeconomic status, race, gender, and geography can lead to negative outcomes and the perpetuation of systemic barriers.
Outside of these issues, students also pursue many different paths within high school. Roughly 8.3 million high schoolers attend educational programs to prepare for careers in fields like transportation, landscaping, and culinary arts. Meanwhile, nearly 2.5 million are in dual enrollment programs that offer high school and college credit for the same course, allowing students to get a jump on higher education degrees.
Dual enrollment programs are particularly useful considering that more than 3 in 5 (61%) high school graduates head to college, per a 2024 Bureau of Labor Statistics report. Unfortunately, high school doesn't always guarantee college success. In 2024, the average SAT score declined for the third straight year, and nearly 2 in 5 (39%) test-takers met or exceeded the test's college readiness benchmarks. ACT scores are also on the decline year over year, down to 19.4 out of 36, and just 3 in 10 students met at least three of the ACT's college readiness benchmarks.
With that said, attending a quality high school will typically help prepare students for their next steps in life, whether that's college, technical school, or going straight into the workforce. Stacker compiled a list of the best high schools in the Knoxville metro area using data from Niche, which uses seven weighted factors for its rankings. Most of the score is based on academics, but other factors include culture and diversity; sports; clubs and activities; resources; and surveys of parents, teachers, and students.
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2 / 25#24. Knoxville Christian School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Knoxville, TN
- Enrollment: 178 (10:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B
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3 / 25#23. Sweetwater High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Monroe County School District, TN
- Enrollment: 559 (14:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
4 / 25#22. Berean Christian School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Knoxville, TN
- Enrollment: 473 (10:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
panitanphoto // Shutterstock
5 / 25#21. The King's Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: Seymour, TN
- Enrollment: 407 (9:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
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6 / 25#20. Paideia Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: Knoxville, TN
- Enrollment: 243 (9:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
SEALANDSKYPHOTO // Shutterstock
7 / 25#19. Midway High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Roane County School District, TN
- Enrollment: 225 (12:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
Tyler Olson // Shutterstock
8 / 25#18. Grace Christian Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: Knoxville, TN
- Enrollment: 1,334 (15:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
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9 / 25#17. Apostolic Christian School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Knoxville, TN
- Enrollment: 240 (17:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
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10 / 25#16. Mount Pisgah Christian Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: Oliver Springs, TN
- Enrollment: 124 (12:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
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11 / 25#15. Career Magnet Academy
- School type: Public School
- Location: Knox County Schools, TN
- Enrollment: 307 (20:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
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12 / 25#14. Hardin Valley Academy
- School type: Public School
- Location: Knox County Schools, TN
- Enrollment: 2,112 (17:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
LStockStudio // Shutterstock
13 / 25#13. Maryville Christian School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Maryville, TN
- Enrollment: 397 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
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14 / 25#12. Christian Academy of Knoxville
- School type: Private School
- Location: Knoxville, TN
- Enrollment: 1,089 (11:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
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15 / 25#11. Alcoa High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Alcoa City Schools, TN
- Enrollment: 705 (15:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
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16 / 25#10. River's Edge Christian Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: Knoxville, TN
- Enrollment: 653 (16:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
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17 / 25#9. West High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Knox County Schools, TN
- Enrollment: 1,478 (17:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
18 / 25#8. Clayton-Bradley Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: Maryville, TN
- Enrollment: 496 (10:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
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19 / 25#7. Bearden High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Knox County Schools, TN
- Enrollment: 1,997 (16:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
20 / 25#6. Knoxville Catholic High School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Knoxville, TN
- Enrollment: 703 (11:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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21 / 25#5. Maryville High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Maryville City Schools, TN
- Enrollment: 1,242 (21:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
LStockStudio // Shutterstock
22 / 25#4. Oak Ridge High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Oak Ridge School District, TN
- Enrollment: 1,587 (17:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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23 / 25#3. Farragut High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Knox County Schools, TN
- Enrollment: 2,096 (18:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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24 / 25#2. L&N STEM Academy
- School type: Public School
- Location: Knox County Schools, TN
- Enrollment: 617 (19:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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25 / 25#1. Webb School of Knoxville
- School type: Private School
- Location: Knoxville, TN
- Enrollment: 1,068 (11:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
This story features data reporting by Rob Powell, writing by Jill Jaracz, and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 97 metros.
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