The top reported proficiency rate is 25% in Science. The lowest is 20% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Dupont Elementary School
DuPont Elementary School serves kindergarten through fifth grade in Chattanooga, Tennessee, as a regular public school within the Hamilton County system. It is not a charter school. The school is located on Hixson Pike, a corridor that runs through the northern part of the city, away from the downtown core. For a parent or resident assessing this school, the picture is built from its student composition, its academic results, and the larger district and city context it sits within.
The school enrolls a student body that is racially and ethnically mixed. White students make up the largest share, followed by Hispanic students and Black students. A notable share of students identify as two or more races, and there is a small Asian population. The share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch was not available in the reported data, which is a gap a family may want to ask the school about directly.
On state assessments, DuPont Elementary’s results are a clear soft spot. In math, about one in five students scored at the proficient level or above on the TNReady tests. In English language arts, the share was slightly lower, also around one in five. Science performance was a bit higher but still below a third of students reaching proficiency. Participation in testing was full, so the results reflect nearly the entire tested population. The social studies data comes from a much earlier school year, involved a test that has since changed, and is not comparable to the current assessment, so it does not give a reliable current picture. A parent considering this school will want to understand what support and intervention programs are in place for students who are not yet meeting grade-level benchmarks.
Because DuPont is an elementary school, it does not produce a graduation rate, and the data did not include information on chronic absenteeism, course access, or staffing ratios. These gaps mean a family may need to gather details directly from the school about class sizes, teacher experience, and the specific reading and math intervention programs used. The district has publicly reported a move toward a structured literacy approach grounded in the science of reading, a district-wide shift that began with kindergarten through second grade and expanded to later grades. This pedagogical change may influence how early reading is taught at DuPont.
Chattanooga itself is a mid-sized city with a diversified economy that includes automotive manufacturing, healthcare, insurance, and tourism. The downtown has undergone a well-documented renaissance, with a walkable riverfront, cultural attractions, and a pedestrian bridge connecting to the North Shore. The city has been recognized nationally for its revitalization and was named the country's first National Park City in 2025. The housing market in the zip code around DuPont shows home values near the state median, with rents roughly keeping pace with that benchmark. The local economy has a low unemployment rate, and the city’s population is growing. For a family, this context means the school sits in a city with economic momentum and a growing base, but the school’s academic outcomes are notably below what many families would expect.
The school is part of Hamilton County Schools, which recently opened a new elementary building in the East Brainerd area to replace a school destroyed by a tornado, a change affecting zoning in that part of the county but not directly relevant to DuPont’s attendance zone. The district’s shift to a phonics-based reading approach is the most direct policy change affecting instruction at all its elementary schools.
The overall profile is of an elementary school with a diverse student body and a city setting with economic and cultural strengths, but with state test scores that are low enough to give a family serious reason to investigate further. The absence of data on free lunch eligibility, special education enrollment, and English learner status makes it harder to know which student groups are most affected. A parent would be wise to visit, ask about reading and math support, and understand how the school is working to improve outcomes for the large majority of students who are not yet scoring proficient.
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