The top reported proficiency rate is 19% in Science. The lowest is 6% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Cora Howe School
Cora Howe School is a special education school serving kindergarten through twelfth grade in Nashville, Tennessee. It operates as a separate setting within the Davidson County school system, meaning it is designed specifically for students with disabilities who require a more specialized environment than a general education campus can provide. The school is small, with an enrollment that reflects its focused mission. The student body is composed predominantly of Black and white students, with smaller shares of Asian, Hispanic, and multiracial students.
Because Cora Howe is a special education school, the academic picture looks different from what a parent would see at a typical zoned school. State assessment results from the most recent year show very low proficiency rates in math and English language arts, and a somewhat higher but still low rate in science. In social studies the data is suppressed due to a very small number of test takers. These numbers are not comparable to those of general education schools. The school serves children with disabilities, many of whom have significant academic or behavioral needs, and the assessments are given under the same grade-level standards as all Tennessee students. A parent considering this placement should expect that proficiency rates will reflect the challenges of the population served, not the quality of instruction or support.
No four-year graduation rate was available for this school, a gap that often occurs in alternative or special-purpose settings where students may follow non-traditional timelines or where the state does not report the metric for that campus. Similarly, data on chronic absenteeism, disciplinary incidents, staffing ratios, and course access were not reported here. These missing data fields are common for schools of this type and do not necessarily indicate a problem, but a parent may want to ask the school directly for its own information on these topics.
The comparison set available places Cora Howe’s overall proficiency index below the midpoint of the districts in Davidson County. That comparison is based on a small cohort of districts, and it should be interpreted with the understanding that a special education school and a general education district measure very different student populations.
Cora Howe is located in Nashville, a major state capital and rapidly growing city. Nashville is a large urban center with a diversified economy anchored by healthcare, music, publishing, and technology. Housing in the area is expensive, with home values and rents well above national averages. The city’s large geographic footprint and auto-oriented development mean that families driving to Cora Howe from different parts of the metro area should plan for a commute. No recent district-level changes affecting parents were found in the research for Davidson County schools.
For a family whose child has been placed in a specialized setting, Cora Howe represents an option within the Metro Nashville Public Schools system that provides a dedicated special education environment across all grade levels. The school’s structure and purpose mean that academic metrics like test scores are not a measure of typical school performance. Parents exploring this school should seek direct information from the school and district about the specific programs, supports, and transition pathways available for their child.
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