The top reported proficiency rate is 26% in English language arts. The lowest is 17% in Social studies.
Original Research by School Decision on Bess T Shepherd Elementary School
Bess T Shepherd Elementary School is a regular public school in Hamilton County serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. The school is located in Chattanooga, a mid-sized city on the Tennessee River that has experienced a well-documented downtown revival and a growing population. The local economy is diversified, with strength in automotive manufacturing, healthcare, insurance, and tourism. The city has invested in its riverfront and greenway system, was named America’s first National Park City in 2025, and offers a walkable downtown core, though most residential areas outside that core are car-dependent.
The school’s enrollment is a mix of students, with Black and Hispanic students each representing substantial shares of the population, followed by White students, multiracial students, and Asian students. The student body is comparable in size to many elementary schools in the district for this grade band. The school did not report free-or-reduced-price lunch data, and information on students with Individualized Education Programs and English learners was also absent from the available data, so families who consider those factors important should check with the school directly.
State testing results from the most recent school year show proficiency rates on the TNReady assessments that fall below the average for Hamilton County elementary schools. In math, about a fifth of students scored at the proficient or above level. In English language arts, roughly a quarter of students met that same bar. Science results were similar to math, with about a fifth of students proficient. These numbers suggest that a majority of students at Bess T Shepherd are not yet reaching the state’s proficiency benchmarks in core subjects. A parent may want to ask the school about the specific instructional supports in place for students who are below grade level, as well as any intervention programs that target the skills measured by these assessments.
Social studies data is older and from a different assessment than the current one, so it is not comparable to the other subjects and should be viewed with caution.
The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate. As a regular elementary school, it participates in the standard district assessments and does not have specialized programs such as magnet themes reported in the data.
Hamilton County Schools, the parent district, has recently made changes that affect instruction across the district. Beginning in the 2022–2023 school year, the district adopted a structured literacy approach grounded in the science of reading, starting with kindergarten through second grade and expanding to higher grades. This is a shift to explicit phonics-based instruction, replacing a balanced literacy model. For a family with a child entering the early grades at Bess T Shepherd, this means the reading instruction will follow the district-wide approach.
The neighborhood around the school is in the Chattanooga area. Housing values in the zip code that serves this area are near the midpoint between the state and national benchmarks. Rents in the same area have been relatively stable in recent months. The local unemployment rate has been consistent, and median household income nationally has shown modest growth over the past several years, though this is a national figure and not specific to this school’s attendance zone.
The available data did not include information on discipline, chronic absenteeism, course access, staffing ratios, or teacher qualifications at this school. Families interested in those details should consult the school directly or the district’s public reporting.
In summary, Bess T Shepherd is a neighborhood elementary school serving a diverse student body in a growing city. Its state assessment results indicate that most students are not meeting proficiency benchmarks, which is the main concern for families weighing academic outcomes. The district’s structured literacy initiative represents a recent shift that may still be in the implementation phase at this school. For families who value the broader community context, Chattanooga offers a revitalized downtown and outdoor amenities, but the school itself operates as a standard district elementary with no specialized theme or magnet designation reported.
See more original research from School Decision →