Paducah Tilghman High School

Paducah Tilghman High School is a large senior high in Paducah, Kentucky, operated by Paducah Independent. The school serves 860 students in grades 9 through 12. Compared to the state average of about 558 students per school, that is 54% larger than typical.

Paducah Independent runs 7 schools in total, collectively educating 3,103 students. Paducah Tilghman High School is one of those campuses.

Looking at the student body, Paducah Tilghman High School shows that the largest single group is Black at 41%, but no single group is in the majority; the rest reads as 39% White, 11% multiracial, 7% Hispanic. That is considerably more Black than the county at large, where the share is closer to 10%.

On the resource side, Paducah Tilghman High School shows 57 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 15.2:1. The state averages around 16.6:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. About 58% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, Paducah Tilghman High School tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 43.7% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 37.3%.

Zooming out to the county, ACS estimates for McCracken County put median household income runs about $64,373, 29% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 11%. Paducah Tilghman High School is one of 22 public schools in McCracken County (combined enrollment of about 9,883 students).

Nearest neighbor: Paducah Head Start Preschool, around 0.1 miles off. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Paducah Tilghman High School. Among the 7 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Paducah Tilghman High School ranks 5th on composite proficiency, below the local average of 49.0%.

The school occupies an inner-city site.

Looking at the recent track record. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Paducah Tilghman High School has climbed 7%, going from 804 students in 2018 to 860 in 2025. The White share of enrollment declined from 44% to 39% over that span.

In the discussion threads here, the feed for Paducah Tilghman High School typically covers classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. Members of the school community can share what they know.