Knox County Schools is not only one of the largest school districts in the Volunteer State, but also is among the most prestigious.
The 2025 annual U.S. News & World Report best public high school list revealed that five of Knox County's 18 public high schools rank among the top 100 high schools in Tennessee. That's more than 25% of Knoxville's public high schools.
Additionally, 16 of 18 Knox County high schools appeared on the top Tennessee high school list, which includes 377 of the Volunteer State's 439 public high schools, according to U.S. News. The only two high schools to go unranked are Knox Adaptive Education Center and Richard Yoakley School.
Here's which Knox County Schools rank among Tennessee's best, according to U.S. News.
L&N STEM Academy
L&N STEM Academy has long been recognized as a top Tennessee school. This year is no exception.
U.S. News & World Report ranked L&N as the No. 6 public high school in Tennessee, the first non-Middle Tennessee school to crack the list. Nationally, L&N ranked at No. 310.
L&N has a smaller student population of 581 students, and a whopping 99% of attendees will cross the graduation stage. That's the highest graduation rate in Knox County.
Farragut High School
Farragut High School is another excellent high school. In 2025, the Knox County school ranked No. 13 as best in the state and No. 845 nationally, according to U.S. News & World Report.
Compared to L&N, Farragut is a much larger high school with a student body of more than 2,000 students. Still, Farragut High School prepares its students well for college. The school's test scores well outpace district averages, particularly in math and reading, according to the rankings.
Farragut boasts a 95.7 percentile score on the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program. Plus, the U.S. News study found 59% of Farragut seniors have taken at least one AP exam in high school.
Bearden High School
Bearden High School is also another top Knoxville high school.
The West Knoxville school ranked No. 38 in the Tennessee best high school rankings and No. 2,535 across the country.
Like Farragut, Bearden is considered a large high school with around 2,000 students, according to U.S. News. There are 114 teachers employed at Bearden High School, giving it an 18:1 classroom ratio.
Bearden students excel academically. In all categories (reading, math and science), Bearden produced higher test scores than the district and state average, according to the U.S. News data.
West High School
West High School came in as the No. 39 best public high school in Tennessee, placing just one spot behind Bearden High School. West is the No. 2,803 best high school in the nation, according to U.S. News.
There are around 1,500 students at West High School, many of whom participate in Knox County's only high school International Baccalaureate program. The IB curriculum is a more rigorous path for students, where in their final years of high school, they can take more difficult classes and earn college credits before graduation, according to the Tennessee Department of Education.
West has a 92% graduation rate and also boasts higher-than-average proficiency levels across math, reading and science.
Hardin Valley Academy
Hardin Valley Academy is the No. 5 Knox County High School, ranking No. 57 in the Volunteer State.
Around 2,050 students attend Hardin Valley Academy, 95% of whom will graduate. Hardin Valley has a classroom ratio of 17:1.
Like the other top high schools, Hardin Valley is widely recognized for its strong academics. The school has an 80.9 percentile score on the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program. Also, more than one-third of Hardin Valley's seniors have taken at least one AP class during their four years.
Are there good schools in Knoxville, East Tennessee?
Yes! There are many top-ranking high schools in East Tennessee. Beyond Knox County high schools, Maryville High School and Oak Ridge High School also were recognized as top Tennessee schools by U.S. News.
Maryville High School ranked as the No. 28 best public high school in Tennessee. Oak Ridge High School was only a few paces behind, ranked at No. 35 best in the state.
Additionally, several Chattanooga and Johnson City schools, including Chatt High Center For Creative Arts and Science Hill High School, were ranked by U.S. News.
How good is Tennessee's education system?
Tennessee's education system is a mixed bag. Using U.S. News & World Report's metrics, the Volunteer State ranked 37 out of the 50 U.S. states.
The three top-ranked high schools in Tennessee - Central Magnet School, Hume-Fogg Magnet High School, and Merrol Hyde Magnet School - are all highly regarded. All three also rank among the top 40 high schools in the United States.
Tennessee has repeatedly been criticized as ranking among the worst states for educators, partially due to lower-than-average salary. The starting salary for a Tennessee teacher is just $44,897, according to a National Education Association report. The average teacher's pay is about $58,630. All salary figures are from the 2023-24 school year.
Tennessee is also known for its lower spending on its students. It was ranked No. 47 in K-12 spending per student.
What are the best public high schools in Tennessee?