Nashville Education Facts

School Options for Nashville Students

PUBLIC ZONED NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOL

All children are zoned to a neighborhood public school and are guaranteed a seat in that school. But there are other options for parents in Davidson County.

PUBLIC MAGNET SCHOOL

A magnet school is a public school that offers specialized curricula and programs not available in traditional neighborhood zoned schools. Magnets are designed to attract students with a common interest or skillset, and students must apply and be accepted to enroll. Magnets are publicly funded schools.

PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL

Charter schools are independently run public schools that have increased flexibility in exchange for greater accountability. If a public charter school receives more applications than they have open seats, students are accepted based on a lottery. Charters are publicly funded schools.

PRIVATE SCHOOL

Private schools do not receive money from the state, so they fund operations by charging tuition. Many private schools offer some form of financial aid. They’re typically run by an independent body (like a school board or the Catholic Diocese). Because they’re exempt from direct state oversight and testing, they have the freedom to choose their own standards and educational approach. 

HOME SCHOOL

Parents have the option to educate their own children in grades K-12 at home, known as home schooling or home education. In Tennessee, there are three options for home schooling: Independent Home School, Church-Related Home School, and Accredited Online School

MNPS: By the Numbers (2020-2021)

162 SCHOOLS

78,224 STUDENTS

26.4% White

39.9% Black

29.2% Hispanic

4.1% Asian

Source

SCHOOL CHOICE

73.5% in Traditional Schools

17.4% in Charter Schools

6.7% in Magnet Schools

2.3% in Non-Traditional Schools

Source: MNPS Data Warehouse

DEMOGRAPHICS

Source

Achievement Scores

The chart shows the percentage of students who scored “on track” or “mastered” in Literacy and Math, as measured by TNReady, the statewide assessment.
Source

College Readiness (2020-2021)

Ready Graduate

26.1%
Met State Standards

73.9%
Did Not Meet Standards

District Average ACT

17.7/36

“Ready Graduate” is the percent of students who earn a regular high school diploma and meet success milestones that are aligned to increase the probability for postsecondary success, including earning a 21+ on the ACT.

Graduation Rate 73.1%
SOURCE: TN Dept of Education

College-Going and Completion

College Completion for MNPS Graduates by Institution Type

Post-secondary enrollment 47%
College Students Persisting to Second Year 53%
College Degree within 6 Years 27%
Source

Money

$12,374

Average Spent Annually Per Pupil
Source

61%

Student Spending Funded Locally
Source

$56,427

Average Teacher Salary
Source

Student Culture (2020-2021)

9.3%

AVERAGE SUSPENSION RATE

The percentage of out-of-school suspensions given / total number of students

NOTE: Discipline data from the 2020-21 school year is not available. Listed rate is from the 2018-2019 academic year.

Source

28.9%

CHRONIC ABSENTEEISM

Percent of students missing more than 10% of school days

Source

Teacher Data

6,148
Teachers

Source

69.2% White

21.9% Black

2.7% Hispanic

6.2% Other 

(2018-2019 Data)

86%
Two-year Average Retention

Source

All information on this page reflects the most recent publicly-available data, sourced from the state or state-based non-profit organizations. See more information on our Data Notes.