Can I use Fayette County's school score to choose a house?

No. Use the Fayette County school score as a first-pass county screen, then verify the exact district, attendance boundary, transfer rules, and grade pathway for any address you are considering.

Does SchoolsByCounty confirm school attendance boundaries in Fayette County?

No. SchoolsByCounty publishes NCES and Census-backed public-school records. Attendance zones, magnet eligibility, charter lotteries, transportation, and transfer rules must be confirmed with local districts.

How should parents compare public schools in Fayette County?

Start with the 8 listed public schools and 2 district entries, then compare similar grade bands and confirm the address-level rules locally.

Fayette County Schools & Education

Name: Fayette County, Tennessee Education Data
Creator: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

Fayette County, Tennessee

NCES 2022-23 public school data and FY 2022 school-finance data

School Score

29/100

Percentile-style score

Score Band

Lower Signal

Graduation Rate

90.0%

National avg 87.5%

Education Statistics

Graduation Rate

90.0%

National avg 87.5%

State avg 93.3%

Per-Pupil Spending

$5,685

National avg $13,239

State avg $6,215

School Score

29/100

Percentile-style score

State avg 47/100

State Score Position

#87

of 95 counties by score

Education Data Brief: Fayette County

Measured School Summary

Despite a lower school score of 29/100, Fayette County maintains a strong graduation rate of 90.0%, suggesting effective student support systems.

Funding Context

At $5,685 per pupil, Fayette County operates with limited funding, which may constrain staffing, materials, and extracurricular offerings.

Neighbor Context

Its school score is 37% below the Tennessee average, and its graduation rate trails the state average by 3.3 percentage points, while per-pupil spending is 9% lower than the state norm.

School Data Brief

How to read Fayette County before comparing districts

County-level education data is best used as a screening layer. It summarizes the local school environment, then points you toward the district and school records that matter for local review.

Local context that changes the interpretation

8 public schools and 2 districts are represented below. Use those school and district records to confirm whether the county-level context fits the neighborhoods you are actually considering.

Overall screen

29/100

Lower measured signal. Ranks #87 of 95 Tennessee counties with school score data.

Completion

90.0%

3.3 pts below the state average

Funding context

$5,685

$530 below the state average

School coverage

2 districts represented in the county school list.

Start with measured county context

The county-level signal is lower, so review individual schools and local records before interpreting the score. Compare the score, graduation rate, and spending together rather than treating any single metric as final.

Check the local school mix

Fayette County has 8 public schools across 2 districts, so school-level fit can vary inside the county.

Verify local rules

Use this page as county-level context, then confirm attendance zones, transportation, special programs, and current school boundaries with local districts.

View Public Schools Compare Counties

Parent decision brief

What Fayette County school data means before you move

County averages are useful for screening, but parents choose addresses, grade pathways, and district rules. This brief turns the public data into the checks that matter before you sign a lease or mortgage.

Small-system county

Fayette County has a compact public-school footprint. A single school change, boundary rule, or district update can move the lived experience more than the county score suggests.

State position

#87

of 95 Tennessee counties with school score data. The county score is 18 points below the state average.

Data confidence

Usable

3 of 5 county signals are present, and 100% of listed schools report enrollment. Compare schools, then verify missing fields locally.

K-12 continuity check

These are the largest visible district slices in the county data. They show whether elementary, middle, and high school records appear together or whether a family needs to investigate transition points.

Fayette County Public Schools

Elementary to high school visible

3,238 students

Elementary 4Middle 2High 1Other 0

7 listed schools in this county slice.

Department Of Children's Services Education Division

High school only in this slice

33 students

Elementary 0Middle 0High 1Other 0

1 listed school in this county slice.

District reality check

Fayette County Public Schools is the largest listed district slice, with 7 schools. County pages do not prove address assignment, so verify boundaries with local district tools.

What the data cannot tell you

NCES records do not confirm current attendance zones, private-school options, transfer approvals, program capacity, transportation, or whether a listed school is available to a specific address.

Questions to ask before choosing an address

Which district actually serves the addresses we are considering in Fayette County?

Do the neighborhoods we like fall inside the same district, or are we comparing different Fayette County district systems?

What changes at the elementary-to-middle and middle-to-high transitions in the district pathway we would likely use?

If we need a program not visible in the NCES flags, which district office can confirm current offerings?

Are the largest listed schools the ones our address can actually attend, or are they only county-level context?

Data Story

Fayette County School Score Trails National Median by 20 Points

Education data brief for Fayette County, Tennessee.

By Evan Brooks, Data EditorPublished Jul 7, 2026Reviewed by Evan Brooks, Data Editor

Lead metric:School score

Fayette County has a composite school score of 29.4, which is lower than the Tennessee average of 47.5 and the national median of 50.0. Public education in the county is managed by two districts, the largest being Fayette County Public Schools with 3,238 students across seven schools. The second district is the Department of Children’s Services Education Division, which oversees one school. Fayette Ware Comprehensive High School is the county's largest campus, enrolling 833 students. The graduation rate for the county is 90.0%, which is higher than the national average of 87.0% but below the state average of 93.3%. Funding is reported at $5,685 per pupil, lower than both the state ($6,215) and national ($13,000) averages. Compare district boundaries before drawing conclusions.

Sources

NCES Common Core of Data
U.S. Census Bureau ACS

School Overview

Total Schools

in Fayette County

Reported Enrollment

3,271

8 schools reporting

School Districts

districts

Charter Schools

0% of total

School Level Breakdown

Elementary4

Middle2

High2

Other0

2 School Districts in Fayette County

Fayette County Public Schools

7 schools

3,238 students

Department Of Children's Services Education Division

1 school

33 students

8 Public Schools in Fayette County

Sorted by reported enrollment. Every NCES public school remains listed here; no school-level profile pages are included in the current generated coverage for this county.

NCES 2022-23 public school data and FY 2022 school-finance data

Search schools

Level

Sort

Showing 8 of 8 matching schools

Public schools in Fayette County, including district, location, profile availability, grades, type, and enrollment.
School Name	Profile	District	Location	Grades	Type / Flags	Reported Enrollment
Fayette Ware Comprehensive High School	Record	Fayette County Public Schools	Somerville, 38068Rural: Distant	9–12	High	833
Oakland Elementary	Record	Fayette County Public Schools	Oakland, 38060Town: Distant	PK–5	Primary	701
Buckley-Carpenter Elementary School	Record	Fayette County Public Schools	Somerville, 38068Rural: Distant	PK–5	Primary	514
West Junior High School	Record	Fayette County Public Schools	Oakland, 38060Town: Distant	6–8	Middle	378
East Jr. High School	Record	Fayette County Public Schools	Somerville, 38068Rural: Distant	6–8	Middle	297
Southwest Elementary	Record	Fayette County Public Schools	Macon, 38048Rural: Distant	PK–5	Primary	297
La Grange Moscow Elementary	Record	Fayette County Public Schools	Moscow, 38057Rural: Distant	PK–5	Primary	218
Wilder Youth Development Center	Record	Department Of Children's Services Education Division	Somerville, 38068Rural: Distant	6–12	High	33

Fayette Ware Comprehensive High School

Fayette County Public Schools

Somerville, 38068 / Rural: Distant

Record9–12High833 students

Oakland Elementary

Fayette County Public Schools

Oakland, 38060 / Town: Distant

RecordPK–5Primary701 students

Buckley-Carpenter Elementary School

Fayette County Public Schools

Somerville, 38068 / Rural: Distant

RecordPK–5Primary514 students

West Junior High School

Fayette County Public Schools

Oakland, 38060 / Town: Distant

Record6–8Middle378 students

East Jr. High School

Fayette County Public Schools

Somerville, 38068 / Rural: Distant

Record6–8Middle297 students

Southwest Elementary

Fayette County Public Schools

Macon, 38048 / Rural: Distant

RecordPK–5Primary297 students

La Grange Moscow Elementary

Fayette County Public Schools

Moscow, 38057 / Rural: Distant

RecordPK–5Primary218 students

Wilder Youth Development Center

Department Of Children's Services Education Division

Somerville, 38068 / Rural: Distant

Record6–12High33 students

Education Funding Detail

Annual Per-Pupil Expenditure

$5,685

State avg $6,215

Compare Nearby Counties

Review Fayette County against other counties using the same NCES-backed metrics.

Open Compare

Browse Public Schools

See school-level enrollment, grade ranges, school type, and district affiliation.

View Schools

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Tennessee counties have the highest graduation rates?

Morgan County (99.0%), Henry County (98.0%), and Benton County (97.0%) currently lead Tennessee among counties with available NCES four-year adjusted cohort graduation-rate data. This answer is generated from the same dataset used in the county table and can change when federal data refreshes.

What is per-pupil spending like in Tennessee?

Across Tennessee counties with available NCES district-finance data, average per-pupil spending is $6,215. The highest current county values are Davidson County ($7,324), Williamson County ($7,061), and Benton County ($7,058). Compare counties in the table before treating the statewide average as representative of a local district.

How should I read the school score in Fayette County?

Fayette County has a school score of 29/100, which is a lower measured signal in this county-level index. This score is calculated from available NCES graduation-rate and school-finance data, with school-level records shown separately below.

What is the graduation rate in Fayette County?

The high school graduation rate in Fayette County is 90.0%, which is above the national average of 87.5%. This figure is based on NCES district-level data for public high schools in the county.

How much does Fayette County spend per student?

Fayette County spends $5,685 per pupil annually on public education, based on NCES district finance data. Current operating spending per fall enrollment, including instruction, support services, administration, transportation, and operations. It excludes capital outlays and debt service in the SchoolsByCounty methodology.

Counties with Similar School Profile

McMinn County

Tennessee

+0 pts

30/100

School score

Hardeman County

Tennessee

+1 pts

30/100

School score

Overton County

Tennessee

+2 pts

31/100

School score

By Evan Brooks, Data EditorUpdated Jul 7, 2026Reviewed by Evan Brooks, Data Editor

Data Sources

Education data sourced from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Common Core of Data and School District Finance Survey. School scores are derived composite metrics based on available NCES graduation-rate and school-finance signals.

Data is informational only. Coverage varies by county and reporting year. Not for use as the sole basis for educational decisions.

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