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1 / 25#25. Centennial High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Williamson County Schools, TN
- Enrollment: 1,474 (16:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
Best high schools in the Nashville 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 Nashville 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. Independence High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Williamson County Schools, TN
- Enrollment: 2,095 (17:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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3 / 25#23. Nolensville High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Williamson County Schools, TN
- Enrollment: 1,463 (18:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
Tyler Olson // Shutterstock
4 / 25#22. Father Ryan High School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Nashville, TN
- Enrollment: 839 (11:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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5 / 25#21. Christ Presbyterian Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: Nashville, TN
- Enrollment: 1,298 (10:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
Achira22 // Shutterstock
6 / 25#20. Valor Flagship Academy
- School type: Public School
- Location: Metro Nashville Public Schools, TN
- Enrollment: 1,400 (17:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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7 / 25#19. St. Cecilia Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: Nashville, TN
- Enrollment: 267 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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8 / 25#18. Merrol Hyde Magnet School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Sumner County Schools, TN
- Enrollment: 668 (16:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
LStockStudio // Shutterstock
9 / 25#17. Franklin High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Williamson County Schools, TN
- Enrollment: 1,801 (17:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
LightField Studios // Shutterstock
10 / 25#16. Franklin Road Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: Nashville, TN
- Enrollment: 1,105 (7:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
LStockStudio // Shutterstock
11 / 25#15. Brentwood Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: Brentwood, TN
- Enrollment: 770 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
panitanphoto // Shutterstock
12 / 25#14. Lighthouse Christian School & Preschool
- School type: Private School
- Location: Antioch, TN
- Enrollment: 440 (10:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
Ground Picture // Shutterstock
13 / 25#13. Pope Saint John Paul II Preparatory School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Hendersonville, TN
- Enrollment: 710 (12:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
maroke // Shutterstock
14 / 25#12. Davidson Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: Nashville, TN
- Enrollment: 703 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
15 / 25#11. Lipscomb Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: Nashville, TN
- Enrollment: 1,426 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
Ground Picture // Shutterstock
16 / 25#10. Brentwood High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Williamson County Schools, TN
- Enrollment: 1,729 (20:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
maroke // Shutterstock
17 / 25#9. Battle Ground Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: Franklin, TN
- Enrollment: 955 (10:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
GagliardiPhotography // Shutterstock
18 / 25#8. Martin Luther King Jr. Magnet High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Metro Nashville Public Schools, TN
- Enrollment: 1,211 (20:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
Tyler Olson // Shutterstock
19 / 25#7. Ravenwood High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Williamson County Schools, TN
- Enrollment: 1,958 (19:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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20 / 25#6. Harpeth Hall School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Nashville, TN
- Enrollment: 723 (7:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
LightField Studios // Shutterstock
21 / 25#5. Central Magnet School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Rutherford County Schools, TN
- Enrollment: 1,210 (17:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
22 / 25#4. The Ensworth School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Nashville, TN
- Enrollment: 1,235 (9:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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23 / 25#3. Montgomery Bell Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: Nashville, TN
- Enrollment: 850 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
Mircea Moira // Shutterstock
24 / 25#2. Hume-Fogg High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Metro Nashville Public Schools, TN
- Enrollment: 898 (20:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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25 / 25#1. University School of Nashville
- School type: Private School
- Location: Nashville, TN
- Enrollment: 1,076 (9:1 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.
