University School
Johnson City · TN · Washington County · Public · K-12 combined
Similar nearby schools
Most similar nearby schools
Science Hill High School → Washington County Adult High School → Providence Academy → Happy Valley High School → Elizabethton High School → East Tn Christian Home & Academy → David Crockett High School → Daniel Boone High School →📋 At a glance
- 📚 8 AP courses offered — Elite
- ✅ Dual-enrollment program (college credit while in HS)
- ✅ Gifted & talented program
- 🔢 8 calculus classes · 1 physics · 4 chemistry
- 🎓 AP rigor: 78th percentile nationally
- 📝 SAT/ACT participation: 66th percentile by test-taker volume
- 🎓 4-yr grad rate: 97% (90th percentile nationally)
Composed from federal CRDC offerings, EDFacts ACGR, and other public data. Full breakdowns below.
How University School compares for families
Stronger-than-average college-prep profile.
- ▸ StatewideAP rigor in the top 22% nationally with 8 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: Science Hill High School, Washington County Adult High School, Providence Academy and 5 more. See the sidebar to compare side-by-side.
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🎓 Academic rigor
AP + advanced-course offerings
Elite — exceptional AP + advanced course breadth
78th percentile nationally
✅ 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 · 2020-2166th percentile 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.
🎓 4-year graduation rate · federal EDFacts
What % of students graduate on time?
90th percentile nationally
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
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.
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.
Counselor capacity
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
Total enrollment + grade 12, NCES Common Core of Data (2021–2024).
If the recent trend holds…
At its recent rate of +1.7%/year, projecting from 2024's 635 students:
An extrapolation of the recent trajectory, not a forecast of the school's plans; ignores one-off shocks.
Revenue upside
At $10,359 per student in district revenue, the 55 students projected to be gained by 2029 represent ≈ $569,745/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.
Nearby high schools — the local competition
The closest high schools families here also consider, and where their enrollment is heading.
| School | Type | Miles | HS enrollment | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Science Hill High School Johnson City |
Public | 1.5 | 2,359 | +4.5% |
| Washington County Adult High School Johnson City |
Public | 2.0 | — | — |
| Providence Academy Johnson City |
Private | 4.4 | 574 | +18.1% |
| Happy Valley High School Elizabethton |
Public | 5.0 | 449 | -4.5% |
| Elizabethton High School Elizabethton |
Public | 7.7 | 886 | +6.4% |
| East Tn Christian Home & Academy Elizabethton |
Private | 7.8 | 8 | — |
| David Crockett High School Jonesborough |
Public | 8.4 | 1,122 | -9.4% |
| Daniel Boone High School Gray |
Public | 9.1 | 1,145 | -7.3% |