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How has Paducah Tilghman High School changed in the last five years, for better or worse?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
860
High
DISTRICT 443 · STATE 558
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·PADUCAH INDEPENDENT·NCES 210465001154
Paducah Tilghman High School
2400 Washington St, Paducah, KY 42003 · (270) 444-5650 · McCracken County
GRADES 09–12HIGH13-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL860 STUDENTS
B-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 49% of Kentucky public high schools
- B-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- B-Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Kentucky public high schools
Student : Teacher
15.2:1
57 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.6:1 · STATE 16.6:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
58%
495 students
DISTRICT 73% · STATE 63%
Community
5
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other high schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 9 | 245 | 28% |
| Grade 10 | 196 | 23% |
| Grade 11 | 225 | 26% |
| Grade 12 | 194 | 23% |
Student demographics
66%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 67% · STATE 47% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
School pathway
Feeds from
Based on grade levels within Paducah Independent. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
KSA (K-PREP) 2024-25 . % Proficient/DistinguishedEnglish Language Arts
52.0%
KY avg 47.9%
Math
43.0%
KY avg 42.8%
What this means: On the KSA (K-PREP), Kentucky's statewide test, about 52 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 43 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Kentucky schools, those numbers are about 48 and 43.
Source: KSA (K-PREP). All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
37.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
43.7%
based on KY schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-6.4pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 37% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 44% typical for Kentucky schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Kentucky's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Paducah Tilghman High School
Paducah Tilghman High School's state test result (37.3% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paducah Tilghman High School this school | 860 | 57.6% | 37.3% |
| Hopkinsville High School Hopkinsville | 961 | 63.1% | 34.3% |
| Christian County High School Hopkinsville | 1,153 | 65.1% | 28.8% |
| Butler Traditional High Louisville | 1,290 | 65.3% | 23.0% |
| Valley High Louisville | 850 | 68.5% | 16.7% |
| Jeffersontown High Jeffersontown | 1,196 | 65.7% | 25.7% |
Matched among Kentucky high schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Paducah Tilghman High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Kentucky |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 37.3% | #108 of 211 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 43.0% | #102 of 211 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 52.0% | #74 of 211 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 860 | #97 of 304 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.2:1 | #60 of 217 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 65.7% | #30 of 217 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 57.6% | #108 of 230 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +7.0% | #43 of 72 |
Ranked against other public high schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
860
+18 (+2%) vs 2020
-9% since 1990-91, when it was 949
Student : Teacher
15.2:1
was 16.2:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 860 | 56.5 | 15.2:1 | 58% (495) |
| 2023-24 | 840 | 57 | 14.7:1 | 59% (496) |
| 2022-23 | 878 | 58.1 | 15.1:1 | 64% (560) |
| 2020-21 | 842 | 52 | 16.2:1 | 59% (498) |
| 2017-18 | 804 | 51.3 | 15.7:1 | 66% (530) |
| 2015-16 | 816 | 50 | 16.3:1 | 68% (557) |
| 2010-11 | 766 | 46 | 16.6:1 | 65% (498) |
| 2000-01 | 823 | 45 | 18.3:1 | 43% (351) |
| 1990-91 | 949 | 69 | 13.8:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Paducah Tilghman High School.
Since 2017-18: students up 7% (804 to 860); teachers up 10% (51.3 to 56.5).
About Paducah Tilghman High School
Paducah Tilghman High School sits in Paducah, Kentucky, and is classified as a high school. Enrollment stands at 860 students, covering grades 9 through 12. It has 54% more students than the average for high schools in Kentucky (about 558).
Paducah Independent counts 7 schools and 3,103 students, including Paducah Tilghman High School.
The student body at Paducah Tilghman High School has no majority group. Black students lead at 41%. The remaining shares are 39% White, 11% multiracial, and 7% Hispanic. McCracken County as a whole is about 10% Black, so the school's share is higher. On a 0 to 100 scale, the school's diversity index is 66, compared with 70 nationally.
For every teacher at Paducah Tilghman High School, there are about 15.2 students; the school has 56.5 full-time-equivalent teachers. The average for high schools in Kentucky is 16.6:1, so this school has fewer students per teacher. There are 495 students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, 58% of enrollment. Public schools in McCracken County average a similar 57%.
On the allk12 Grade, Paducah Tilghman High School lands at B-, ahead of 49% of Kentucky public high schools.
On a poverty-adjusted basis, Paducah Tilghman High School falls in the middle 80% of Kentucky schools: 37.3% actual against 43.7% predicted.
Five-year Census Bureau estimates for McCracken County show that the median household earns about $64,373 a year, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 29%, and about 11% of people live in poverty. McCracken County has 22 public schools with about 9,883 students, including Paducah Tilghman High School.
Paducah Head Start Preschool is about 0.1 miles away, making it the nearest public school. Paducah Tilghman High School is one of several public schools in the area, with at least 8 others within five miles. Paducah Tilghman High School's average proficiency of 37.3% compares with 49.0% for its nearest scored neighbors.
NCES assigns Paducah Tilghman High School the locale City: Small, meaning inside a principal city with a population under 100,000.
Enrollment was essentially flat over 4 years: 842 in 2020-21, 860 in 2024-25.
You can use this page to share news and ask questions about fundraisers, report cards, and school supplies. You can also rate the school on this page.
McCracken County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
67,564
Census ACS
Median income
$64,373
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
29%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
11%
Below federal line
Schools in county
22
9,883 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Paducah Independent
- Paducah Middle SchoolMiddle · 632 students
- Clark Elementary SchoolElementary · 615 students
- Morgan Elementary SchoolElementary · 369 students
- McNabb Elementary SchoolElementary · 334 students
- Paducah Head Start PreschoolElementary · 251 students
- Choices Educational CenterCombined · 42 students
Other schools in Paducah
- McCracken County High SchoolHigh · 1,882 students
- Lone Oak Middle SchoolMiddle · 702 students
- Paducah Middle SchoolMiddle · 632 students
- Clark Elementary SchoolElementary · 615 students
- Concord Elementary SchoolElementary · 606 students
- Reidland Elementary SchoolElementary · 548 students
Nearby schools
- Paducah Head Start Preschool0.1 mi · 251
- McNabb Elementary School0.7 mi · 334
- Morgan Elementary School0.8 mi · 369
- Paducah Middle School0.9 mi · 632
- Clark Elementary School1.1 mi · 615
- Choices Educational Center1.5 mi · 42
Frequently asked questions
About Paducah Tilghman High SchoolHow many students attend Paducah Tilghman High School?
Paducah Tilghman High School enrolls approximately 860 students in grades 09-12.
What grades does Paducah Tilghman High School serve?
Paducah Tilghman High School serves grades 09-12.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Paducah Tilghman High School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Paducah Tilghman High School is approximately 15.2:1 (57 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Paducah Tilghman High School?
At Paducah Tilghman High School, the student body is approximately 39% White, 7% Hispanic, 41% Black, 1% Asian, 11% Two or more.
Is Paducah Tilghman High School public or private?
Paducah Tilghman High School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Paducah Independent.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.