Carter County Alternative School
Elizabethton · TN · Carter County · Public · K-12 combined
Similar nearby schools
Most similar nearby schools
Cloudland High School → Washington County Adult High School → Unaka High School → Clinch School → Richard Yoakley School → Tennessee School for the Deaf High School → Gary Hardin Academy → Dr. Paul L. Kelley Volunteer Academy →📋 At a glance
- 🎓 AP rigor: Bottom 22% of US high schools
- 📝 SAT/ACT participation: Bottom 10% by test-taker volume
Composed from federal CRDC offerings, EDFacts ACGR, and other public data. Full breakdowns below.
How Carter County Alternative School compares for families
What families should know about Carter County Alternative School.
- ▸ 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: Cloudland High School, Washington County Adult High School, Unaka High School and 5 more. See the sidebar to compare side-by-side.
For Parents
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Get an email when Carter County Alternative School's numbers change — new admissions results, enrollment shifts, test scores. A few updates a year, no spam.
SAT / ACT participation
CRDC federal data · 2020-21Bottom 10% by test-taker volume
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.
👩🏫 Teacher workforce · federal CRDC
Teacher experience & reliability
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
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.
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.
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 ↗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
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. For school leaders: an Enrollment Trend Audit traces this dynamic forward →
Source: U.S. Department of Education, Civil Rights Data Collection 2020–2021. Rate = students chronically absent ÷ 2024 total enrollment.
Enrollment trend & projection
Total enrollment + grade 12, NCES Common Core of Data (2021–2024).
If the recent trend holds…
At its recent rate of +26.6%/year, projecting from 2024's 61 students:
An extrapolation of the recent trajectory, not a forecast of the school's plans; ignores one-off shocks.
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.
| School | Type | Miles | HS enrollment | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloudland High School Roan Mountain |
Public | 14.8 | 149 | -11.3% |
| Washington County Adult High School Johnson City |
Public | 17.9 | — | — |
| Unaka High School Elizabethton |
Public | 3.3 | 284 | -17.7% |
| Clinch School Sneedville |
Public | 57.0 | 46 | — |
| Richard Yoakley School Knoxville |
Public | 103.5 | 71 | -40.8% |
| Tennessee School for the Deaf High School Knoxville |
Public | 104.2 | 45 | — |
| Gary Hardin Academy Sevierville |
Public | 94.0 | 74 | -39.8% |
| Dr. Paul L. Kelley Volunteer Academy Knoxville |
Public | 106.6 | 95 | +23.4% |