The top reported proficiency rate is 26% in Science. The lowest is 21% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Mooreland Heights Elementary
Mooreland Heights Elementary is a regular public school in Knoxville serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. It is part of Knox County Schools, the district covering the city of Knoxville and its broader suburban and exurban surroundings. The school sits in the southern part of Knoxville, in the 37920 zip code.
The student body is diverse along several dimensions. White students make up the largest racial group, followed by Black students, Hispanic students, and students who identify as two or more races. Asian and American Indian or Alaska Native students are also present but in very small numbers. The school is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet, and it participates in the general Knox County enrollment system. Data on the share of students who qualify for free-or-reduced-price lunch, the share with individualized education programs, and the share who are English learners was not reported, so a full picture of the school’s socioeconomic and special-education composition is not available from these records.
On state assessments in the most recent testing year, the school’s results were well below the state average, reflecting particular challenge. In math, about one in five students scored proficient or above. In English language arts, the share was also about one in five. In science, roughly one in four students were proficient. These numbers place the school in a difficult light. Compared to other elementary schools in Knox County, its overall proficiency across tested subjects was above the midpoint, which indicates that while the school’s raw proficiency rates are low, some other schools in the county are even lower. The comparison set was limited to two Knox County school entities at the time of measurement, so the range is narrow. A parent looking at these numbers would see a school where the majority of students are not yet meeting state proficiency benchmarks, and this is the central academic fact to weigh.
Because the school serves only up to fifth grade, there is no graduation rate to report, and no data on chronic absenteeism was available. Participation rates on the state tests were very high, exceeding 99 percent, which means nearly every enrolled student took the assessments and the reported results reflect the full tested population.
The housing context of the surrounding area shows a market with moderately priced homes relative to national and state benchmarks. Home values in the 37920 zip code were slightly below the statewide median and noticeably below the national median, making the area relatively more affordable than many other parts of the country. Rents have been roughly flat recently. The district as a whole recently saw a property tax increase approved to help fund county operations including schools, which is a consideration for homeowners in Knox County. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate at the time of this data was above the national average from a year prior, which affects monthly housing costs for new buyers.
Knoxville itself is a mid-sized city with a revitalized downtown anchored by the University of Tennessee flagship campus, the Tennessee Valley Authority headquarters, and several large corporate employers. The city blends urban walkability in its core with auto-oriented suburban development elsewhere. The school’s location on Magazine Road places it away from the downtown core, in a part of the city that is more residential and less dense. For a family considering this school, the broader Knoxville job market is stable, with major employers in government, education, and corporate headquarters.
The school does not report course access or program offerings in the available data, so it is not possible to speak to enrichment, arts, or specialized academic tracks. For a school serving only elementary grades, that may reflect a standard curriculum without specialized program data being recorded in this dataset. A parent interested in specific programs such as music, art, or gifted education would need to ask the school directly.
Mooreland Heights Elementary presents as a school where academic proficiency is a known challenge, set within a diverse student population in a moderately priced part of a growing mid-sized city. The school is part of a large district that has recently made changes to early literacy instruction and seen a tax increase for school funding. A family looking at this school would want to understand what support structures are in place for students who are below grade level, and whether the school’s environment and approach align with their child’s needs.
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