Memphis School of Excellence

Memphis · TN · Memphis-Shelby County Schools · Public charter · K-12 combined


🎓95% 4-yr grad rate

📋 At a glance

Programs & features
  • 📚 4 AP courses offered — Strong
  • ✅ Gifted & talented program
Academic signals
  • 🎓 AP rigor: 56th percentile nationally
  • 📝 SAT/ACT participation: 52nd percentile by test-taker volume
  • 🎓 4-yr grad rate: 95% (75th percentile nationally)

Composed from federal CRDC offerings, EDFacts graduation data, and other public data. Full breakdowns below.

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How Memphis School of Excellence compares for families

Solid mid-tier academic profile.

  • StatewideAP rigor at the 56th percentile nationally with 4 AP courses.
  • LocallyTN sits right at the US average on NAEP 8th-grade math — local school quality will set your kid apart.
  • vs Similar SchoolsThe closest comparables nearby: Oakhaven High, University High School, Middle College High and 5 more. See the sidebar to compare side-by-side.

For Parents

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Objective, government-grade data — no school pays us for placement.

🎓 Academic rigor

AP + advanced-course offerings

Strong — solid AP program + advanced courses

56th percentile nationally

50th 90th ↑ this school
Less rigorMore rigorMost rigor
AP courses offered
4
Math ✓
Students taking AP courses
52
≈17 per 100 students · uptake, not just offerings
Advanced math classes
2
0 calculus · 2 advanced
Lab science classes
6
3 physics · 3 chemistry
Other rigor signals
✅ Gifted/talented program

Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2020-21). CRDC reports what's offered + enrolled — it doesn't collect AP exam pass rates (College Board owns that data and doesn't release it school-level).

SAT / ACT participation

CRDC federal data · 2020-21

52nd percentile by test-taker volume

50th 90th
SAT/ACT test-takers
73
11th-12th graders who took 1+ college admissions test
Test-taking intensity
24.2
takers per 100 students in grades 9-12
Compared against
18,426
US high schools reporting SAT/ACT participation

Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2020-21). Volume — not score — is what's reported here. A higher count means more students at this school are entering the college admissions pipeline. Note: 2020-21 was COVID-disrupted; some districts (especially those that stayed remote longer) report unusually low or zero takers.

🎓 4-year graduation rate · federal EDFacts

What % of students graduate on time?

75th percentile nationally

50th 90th
4-year graduation rate
95%
Range: 90–100%
4-year cohort size
42
Students in the 9th-grade entry class tracked over 4 years
Compared against
17,988
US high schools reporting 4-year ACGR

Source: federal EDFacts ACGR (Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate), 2019 vintage via Urban Institute. EDFacts publishes a range (low-high) to preserve privacy on small cohorts; we display the midpoint.

👩‍🏫 Teacher workforce · federal CRDC

Teacher experience & reliability

% inexperienced teachers (1st-2nd yr)
38.2%
Elevated — a quarter or more of teachers are in years 1-2. Often correlates with school instability.
% chronic teacher absence (≥10 days/yr)
20.6%
Elevated. Teacher absence directly affects classroom continuity and student outcomes.

Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2017-18 — the most recent vintage that publishes per-school teacher quality fields; the 2020-21 sweep had them suppressed). "Inexperienced" = teachers in their first or second year. "Chronic absence" = teachers absent 10+ days/year.

🏛️ Your state's public flagship

The University of Tennessee-Knoxville

46%
admit rate
$13,812
in-state tuition/yr · $33,256 out-of-state
1190–1340
SAT 25–75 · ACT 25–31

The in-state tuition gap is the flagship's biggest draw — most in-state families pay far less than the out-of-state sticker. Average net price after aid runs about $18,976/yr. Admission odds depend on your student's GPA and test scores, not which high school they attend.

See the full The University of Tennessee-Knoxville profile → Estimate your odds with your scores →

Source: IPEDS admissions, tuition & enrollment + College Scorecard net price. Flagship = the state's primary public research university.

💰 Pay for college in Tennessee

Tennessee's public scholarships

Tennessee pairs a lottery-funded merit award (HOPE) with the well-known TN Promise, which makes community and technical college essentially free for any graduate.

Merit Tennessee HOPE Scholarship (TELS)
$4,500–$5,700/yr (4-yr) · $3,200/yr (2-yr)
GPA: 3.0 weighted GPA Test: OR SAT 1060 / ACT 21 Income: No income limit

Lottery-funded merit award — qualify with EITHER a 3.0 weighted GPA OR ACT 21 / SAT 1060. No income limit. (Qualify by either path; enroll within 16 months of graduating.)

Official program details ↗
Promise Tennessee Promise
Free community / technical college (last-dollar)
Income: No income limit

Tuition-free community or technical college for any TN grad — no GPA, test, or income requirement. (Apply senior year; FAFSA, mentor meeting, 8 hrs community service/term.)

Official program details ↗

Eligibility rules change yearly — confirm with the official program before relying on it. Amounts are recent published figures; awards cover tuition/fees, not housing or books unless noted. Verified 2026-06-14.

Chronic absenteeism

Share of students absent 15+ days
9.7%
Below 10% — strong attendance culture. Chronic absence is a leading indicator of dropout and disengagement; a low rate signals families staying connected to the school.
Students absent 15+ days
56
Federal definition: absent (excused or unexcused) for at least 15 of ~180 school days — about 10% of the school year.

Why this matters to enrollment: A low chronic-absence rate is the cleanest school-level signal of strong family connection, classroom culture, and student engagement — all upstream drivers of enrollment stability.

Source: U.S. Department of Education, Civil Rights Data Collection 2020–2021. Rate = students chronically absent ÷ 2024 total enrollment.

Counselor capacity

Student : Counselor
575:1
Well above the US median — a real constraint on individualized college and course planning.
Counselor FTE
1.0
Full-time-equivalent school counselors on staff.
Teacher FTE
33
Full-time-equivalent classroom teachers.

Source: U.S. Department of Education, Civil Rights Data Collection 2020-2021. Counselor ratio = the school's most recent total enrollment ÷ counselor FTE. The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) recommends a 250:1 maximum; the US national median across schools with on-staff counselors is roughly 430:1.

Enrollment trend & projection

Grade 12 went from 67 in 2021 to 61 in 2024 — over 3 years.
-9.0%

Total enrollment + grade 12, NCES Common Core of Data (2021–2024).

If the recent trend holds…

At its recent rate of +1.9%/year, projecting from 2024's 575 students:

2025
586
2027
608
2029
632

An extrapolation of the recent trajectory, not a forecast of the school's plans; ignores one-off shocks.

Revenue upside

At $12,511 per student in district revenue, the 57 students projected to be gained by 2029 represent ≈ $713,127/year in additional funding.

District total revenue ÷ enrollment, NCES F-33. Public funding largely follows enrollment, so a shrinking class is a recurring budget hit.

Most similar nearby high schools

The schools most like this one — same type, blended on distance and size — and where their enrollment is heading. These are the schools families here weigh against each other.

SchoolTypeMilesHS enrollmentTrend
Oakhaven High
Memphis
Public 3.4 341 -12.8%
University High School
Memphis
Public 5.6 280
Middle College High
Memphis
Public 7.1 304 -0.3%
The Excel Center
Memphis
Public 2.1 457 +27.3%
Soulsville Charter School
Memphis
Public · charter 8.9 336 -4.8%
B. T. Washington High
Memphis
Public 9.9 270 -12.9%
KIPP Memphis Collegiate High School
Memphis
Public · charter 9.6 346 -20.5%
Carver College and Career Academy
Memphis
Public 10.3 341 -29.0%

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