Sweetwater High School

Summary:

Sweetwater High School is a public high school in Sweetwater, Tennessee, serving 559 students in grades 9-12 as part of the Monroe County School District, which is ranked 124 out of 139 districts in the state and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Sweetwater High School faces significant academic challenges, with a student population that is predominantly White (79.96%) and has a higher percentage of Hispanic students (13.06%) compared to the state average. The school's academic performance, as measured by state assessments, is generally below the state and county averages across various subjects and grade levels. For example, in the 2023-2024 school year, the school's proficiency rates in Biology I, US History, and English I were all lower than the state and county averages. Additionally, the school's rankings for specific student subgroups, such as male students, Hispanic students, and students with special education needs, are often in the bottom half or bottom quarter of Tennessee high schools, indicating significant achievement gaps.

Compared to nearby schools, such as Tellico Plains High School, Sequoyah High School, and other schools in the region, Sweetwater High School generally performs worse academically, with lower proficiency rates and rankings. The school's high spending per student (ranging from $8,842 to $9,948 over the past few years) and low student-teacher ratio (14.1 to 15.5) suggest that additional resources and targeted interventions may be needed to improve student outcomes.


Detail:

Public 9-12

 414 South High ST
       Sweetwater, TN  37874


(423) 337-7881

District: Monroe County

SchoolDigger Rank:
249th of 392 Tennessee High Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures:  $12,944 Help


Feeder schools for Sweetwater High School:

Elementary:    Coker Creek Elementary
    Madisonville Intermediate School
    Madisonville Primary
    Rural Vale Elementary
    More...
Middle:    Madisonville Middle School
    Tellico Plains Junior High School
    Vonore Middle School

Student/teacher ratio:  17.0 Help
Number of students:  582

Racial breakdown:

White:
78.2%
Hispanic:
14.6%
African American:
3.4%
more

Free/discounted lunch recipients:  63.4% Help


 See top rated Tennessee high schools

 Compare Sweetwater High School to nearby high schools!

Performance Trends
Help
Compare Details Sweetwater High School ranks worse than 63.5% of high schools in Tennessee. It also ranks last among 3 ranked high schools in the Monroe County School District. (See more...)
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Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 35.5. (See more...)
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The four-year cohort graduation rate measures the percentage of students at Sweetwater High School who earn a standard high school diploma within four years of starting ninth grade.
Help
The high school dropout rate measures the percentage of students who do not complete their high school education.
Help
Chronic absenteeism in a school refers to a situation where students repeatedly miss school, with the threshold often defined as missing 10% or more of school days for any reason, excused or unexcused.
Student Body
Help
Compare Details Racial makeup is: White (78.2%), Hispanic (14.6%), African American (3.4%). (See more...)
Teachers
Help
Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Sweetwater High School is 17. 1 high schools in the Monroe County School District have better student/teacher ratios. (See more...)
Help
Compare Sweetwater High School employs 34.1 full-time teachers.
Finance
Help
Compare Details The average total spent per student at Sweetwater High School is $12,944, which is the highest among 3 high schools in the Monroe County School District!
Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Sweetwater High School:

SchoolDigger ranks Sweetwater High School 249th of 392 Tennessee public high schools. (See Sweetwater High School in the ranking list.)

High School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:


Special Education students:
Low Socio Economic Status students:
Female students:
Male students:
African American students:
Hispanic students:
White students:


Monroe County:

SchoolDigger ranks Monroe County 125th of 140 Tennessee school districts. (See district ranking list.)


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Rank History for Sweetwater High School

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Rank History for all students at Sweetwater High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools TN State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2010 21.91 242nd 267 9.4%
2011 27.84 231st 273 15.4%
2012 45.70 185th 269 31.2%
2013 38.10 232nd 285 18.6%
2014 28.90 256th 296 13.5%
2015 39.58 234th 300 22.0%
2016 40.76 220th 351 37.3%
2017 36.07 173rd 273 36.6%
2018 46.98 159th 341 53.4%
2019 30.12 250th 342 26.9%
2021 43.40 176th 347 49.3%
2022 51.76 141st 358 60.6%
2023 42.39 203rd 384 47.1%
2024 35.50 249th 392 36.5%
See the entire list of Tennessee High School Rankings!

Rank History for Special Education students at Sweetwater High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools TN State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2022 23.23 137th 151 9.3%
2023 19.25 144th 154 6.5%
2024 44.67 76th 183 58.5%
See the entire list of Best Tennessee High Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Sweetwater High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools TN State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 48.33 119th 308 61.4%
2019 25.66 248th 302 17.9%
2021 39.69 184th 317 42.0%
2022 44.92 154th 322 52.2%
2023 40.39 186th 330 43.6%
2024 38.88 204th 337 39.5%
See the entire list of Best Tennessee High Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at Sweetwater High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools TN State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2019 25.90 272nd 337 19.3%
2021 35.39 218th 340 35.9%
2022 44.34 184th 350 47.4%
2023 37.28 234th 366 36.1%
2024 33.18 254th 365 30.4%
See the entire list of Best Tennessee High Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Male students at Sweetwater High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools TN State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2019 33.35 230th 329 30.1%
2021 50.52 123rd 332 63.0%
2022 56.96 110th 349 68.5%
2023 46.07 164th 359 54.3%
2024 36.57 224th 366 38.8%
See the entire list of Best Tennessee High Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for African American students at Sweetwater High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools TN State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 34.77 114th 199 42.7%
2019 45.01 83rd 187 55.6%
2021 60.41 44th 208 78.8%
2024 51.40 95th 240 60.4%
See the entire list of Best Tennessee High Schools for African American Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Sweetwater High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools TN State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 28.84 121st 159 23.9%
2019 12.14 150th 153 2.0%
2021 36.05 113th 180 37.2%
2022 52.29 67th 189 64.6%
2023 47.24 90th 202 55.4%
2024 30.49 160th 209 23.4%
See the entire list of Best Tennessee High Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for White students at Sweetwater High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools TN State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 45.41 147th 307 52.1%
2019 27.45 248th 301 17.6%
2021 41.19 173rd 306 43.5%
2022 44.67 154th 312 50.6%
2023 35.00 208th 325 36.0%
2024 31.62 230th 326 29.4%
See the entire list of Best Tennessee High Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: Tennessee Department of Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Sweetwater High School Test Scores
Tests: 
  
Grades: 
  
Years: 
  
Group by: 
District Scores:
State Scores:    
  
Subgroup: 






Data source: Tennessee Department of Education

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Enrollment information for Sweetwater High School

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Year White African American Asian Hispanic American Indian Pacific Islander Two or More Races Not Specified Total
1988 419 42 0 0 0 n/a n/a 0 461
1989 426 44 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 0 470
1990 473 44 0 0 0 n/a n/a 0 517
1991 432 36 0 0 0 n/a n/a 0 468
1992 441 37 0 0 0 n/a n/a 0 478
1993 437 50 0 0 0 n/a n/a 3 490
1994 462 43 1 0 0 n/a n/a 0 506
1995 459 42 2 2 0 n/a n/a 0 505
1996 459 42 2 2 0 n/a n/a 0 505
1997 464 44 5 1 0 n/a n/a -71 443
1998 483 9 1 3 0 n/a n/a 1 497
1999 428 40 1 1 0 n/a n/a 0 470
2000 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 496 496
2001 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 513 513
2002 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 590 590
2003 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 590 590
2004 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 569 569
2005 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 647 647
2006 581 44 3 22 2 n/a n/a 0 652
2007 601 41 5 23 2 n/a n/a 0 672
2008 569 59 5 36 2 n/a n/a 0 671
2009 529 67 7 50 2 n/a n/a 0 655
2010 488 47 10 49 4 n/a n/a 0 598
2011 468 53 9 42 2 0 3 0 577
2012 455 43 6 45 1 0 3 0 553
2013 452 40 8 48 0 0 3 0 551
2014 441 39 8 47 3 0 8 0 546
2015 474 32 7 55 2 0 13 0 583
2016 492 27 10 55 2 0 16 0 602
2017 494 28 8 51 4 0 20 0 605
2018 526 33 7 51 2 0 21 0 640
2019 500 26 8 64 1 0 29 0 628
2020 491 25 5 66 1 0 38 0 626
2021 471 21 3 63 0 0 39 0 597
2022 464 15 3 67 0 0 35 0 584
2023 447 13 3 73 0 0 23 0 559
2024 455 20 1 85 2 0 19 0 582

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Sweetwater High School

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 461 22.0 20.9 n/a
1989 470 22.0 21.3 n/a
1990 517 22.0 23.5 n/a
1991 468 24.0 19.5 n/a
1992 478 24.0 19.9 n/a
1993 490 24.0 20.4 n/a
1994 506 25.0 20.2 n/a
1995 505 32.0 15.8 n/a
1996 505 32.0 15.8 n/a
1997 443 n/a 0.0 n/a
1998 497 n/a 0.0 n/a
1999 470 n/a 0.0 n/a
2000 496 n/a 0.0 n/a
2001 513 n/a 0.0 n/a
2002 590 n/a n/a n/a
2003 590 n/a n/a n/a
2004 569 n/a n/a n/a
2005 647 n/a n/a n/a
2006 652 31.1 21.0 n/a
2007 672 32.0 21.0 52.1
2008 671 34.0 19.7 49.2
2009 655 33.1 19.8 56.2
2010 598 33.1 18.0 68.6
2011 577 32.2 17.9 69
2012 553 33.0 16.7 58
2013 551 32.4 17.0 65.9
2014 546 37.0 14.7 64.3
2015 583 38.0 15.3 63
2016 602 42.0 14.3 n/a
2017 605 39.5 15.3 n/a
2018 640 38.9 16.4 n/a
2019 628 37.5 16.7 n/a
2020 626 37.5 16.6 63.4
2021 597 38.3 15.5 n/a
2022 584 37.5 15.5 n/a
2023 559 39.5 14.1 n/a
2024 582 34.1 17.0 n/a

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio Sweetwater High School

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Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 461 22.0 20.9 n/a
1989 470 22.0 21.3 n/a
1990 517 22.0 23.5 n/a
1991 468 24.0 19.5 n/a
1992 478 24.0 19.9 n/a
1993 490 24.0 20.4 n/a
1994 506 25.0 20.2 n/a
1995 505 32.0 15.8 n/a
1996 505 32.0 15.8 n/a
1997 443 n/a 0.0 n/a
1998 497 n/a 0.0 n/a
1999 470 n/a 0.0 n/a
2000 496 n/a 0.0 n/a
2001 513 n/a 0.0 n/a
2002 590 n/a n/a n/a
2003 590 n/a n/a n/a
2004 569 n/a n/a n/a
2005 647 n/a n/a n/a
2006 652 31.1 21.0 n/a
2007 672 32.0 21.0 52.1
2008 671 34.0 19.7 49.2
2009 655 33.1 19.8 56.2
2010 598 33.1 18.0 68.6
2011 577 32.2 17.9 69
2012 553 33.0 16.7 58
2013 551 32.4 17.0 65.9
2014 546 37.0 14.7 64.3
2015 583 38.0 15.3 63
2016 602 42.0 14.3 n/a
2017 605 39.5 15.3 n/a
2018 640 38.9 16.4 n/a
2019 628 37.5 16.7 n/a
2020 626 37.5 16.6 63.4
2021 597 38.3 15.5 n/a
2022 584 37.5 15.5 n/a
2023 559 39.5 14.1 n/a
2024 582 34.1 17.0 n/a

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.
Finances

Per Pupil Expenditures for Sweetwater High School

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YearExpenditures from Federal FundsExpenditures from State and Local FundsTotal Expenditures Per Pupil (All Funds)
2019 $467 (5.2%) $8,125 (89.7%) $9,055
2020 $490 (5.5%) $7,900 (89.3%) $8,842
2021 $879 (8.8%) $8,582 (86.3%) $9,948
2022 $1,668 (14.7%) $9,152 (80.6%) $11,353
2023 $2,454 (19.0%) $9,896 (76.5%) $12,944

Data source: Tennessee Department of Education
Pre and Post Pandemic Data

Impact of COVID-19 on Sweetwater High School

The coronavirus has had a profound impact on education in America. Learning shifted online overnight, attendance numbers dwindled, and enrollment decreased. SchoolDigger.com is making it easier for you to better assess how COVID-19 has impacted your school. Through the collection of pre-pandemic (2019) and current data, SchoolDigger.com is sharing test scores, enrollment numbers and school demographics from schools across the country – and we make it easy to see how impacted schools compare locally and statewide.

Rankings

Rank
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Rank
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Ranks 250th of 342 High schoolsRanks 203rd of 384 High schools
 20.2%

Test Scores

% proficient
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
% proficient
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
9th Grade Algebra I (Sweetwater High School)1821.1
 3.1%
   9th Grade Algebra I (Monroe County)27.222.8
 4.4%
   9th Grade Algebra I (Tennessee)21.817.8
 4%
9th Grade English I (Sweetwater High School)16.532.1
 15.6%
   9th Grade English I (Monroe County)26.932.5
 5.6%
   9th Grade English I (Tennessee)33.336
 2.7%
10th Grade English II (Sweetwater High School)35.848.1
 12.3%
   10th Grade English II (Monroe County)35.238.7
 3.5%
   10th Grade English II (Tennessee)4450.7
 6.7%
10th Grade Geometry (Sweetwater High School)7.814
 6.2%
   10th Grade Geometry (Monroe County)33.317.3
 16%
   10th Grade Geometry (Tennessee)28.223.8
 4.4%
11th Grade Algebra II (Sweetwater High School)10.819.7
 8.9%
   11th Grade Algebra II (Monroe County)17.713
 4.7%
   11th Grade Algebra II (Tennessee)17.716.8
 0.9%
11th Grade US History (Sweetwater High School)26.825
 1.8%
   11th Grade US History (Monroe County)20.125
 4.9%
   11th Grade US History (Tennessee)29.639.7
 10.1%
All Grades Algebra I (Sweetwater High School)16.119.3
 3.2%
   All Grades Algebra I (Monroe County)24.620.3
 4.3%
   All Grades Algebra I (Tennessee)27.423.2
 4.2%
All Grades Algebra II (Sweetwater High School)22.918.6
 4.3%
   All Grades Algebra II (Monroe County)21.513.7
 7.8%
   All Grades Algebra II (Tennessee)27.425.6
 1.8%
All Grades US History (Sweetwater High School)26.225
 1.2%
   All Grades US History (Monroe County)20.125
 4.9%
   All Grades US History (Tennessee)28.638.5
 9.9%
All Grades English I (Sweetwater High School)16.532.1
 15.6%
   All Grades English I (Monroe County)26.832.3
 5.5%
   All Grades English I (Tennessee)32.735.4
 2.7%
All Grades English II (Sweetwater High School)35.848.1
 12.3%
   All Grades English II (Monroe County)35.138.8
 3.7%
   All Grades English II (Tennessee)42.749.4
 6.7%
All Grades Geometry (Sweetwater High School)18.112.6
 5.5%
   All Grades Geometry (Monroe County)36.317.9
 18.4%
   All Grades Geometry (Tennessee)33.928.6
 5.3%

Student Body

Number of students
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Number of students
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Total Students628559
 11%
African American2613
 50%
American Indian10
 100%
Asian83
 62.5%
Hispanic6473
 14.1%
Pacific Islander00
White500447
 10.6%
Two or More Races2923
 20.7%


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Frequently Asked Questions about Sweetwater High School

Students at Sweetwater High School are 78% White, 15% Hispanic, 3% African American, 3% Two or more races.

Sweetwater High School ranks 249th of 392 Tennessee high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

In the 2023-24 school year, 582 students attended Sweetwater High School.


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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Tennessee Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.





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