Wallace A. Smith Elementary School

Summary:

Wallace A. Smith Elementary is a public elementary school in Ooltewah, Tennessee, serving 617 students in grades PK-5. As part of the Hamilton County School District, the school consistently ranks among the top elementary schools in Tennessee, with exceptional academic performance and strong support for diverse student populations.

Wallace A. Smith Elementary excels academically, with proficiency rates in TNReady assessments that significantly outpace the district and state averages across all grade levels. For example, in 2023-2024, 63.1% of students were proficient or better in Mathematics, compared to 39.5% in Hamilton County and 39.7% statewide. The school also demonstrates a strong commitment to equity, with its African American, Hispanic, and Special Education students performing at the top 10-20% of Tennessee elementary schools. Additionally, the school's low percentage of students from low socioeconomic backgrounds suggests it may have access to additional resources to support its student population.

When compared to nearby schools in the Hamilton County School District, Wallace A. Smith Elementary stands out. It consistently outperforms its neighbors in academic proficiency, often by a significant margin. For instance, in 2023-2024, the school's 63.1% Mathematics proficiency rate was higher than Middle Valley Elementary (50.4%), Big Ridge Elementary (55.9%), and East Brainerd Elementary (33.7%). This exceptional performance, combined with the school's high statewide ranking and 5-star rating from SchoolDigger, makes Wallace A. Smith Elementary a standout choice for families in the Ooltewah area.


Detail:

Public PK, KG-5

 6930 Lebron Sterchi DR
       Ooltewah, TN  37363


(423) 344-1425

District: Hamilton County

SchoolDigger Rank:
116th of 1,018 Tennessee Elementary Schools


Students who attend Wallace A. Smith Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:    Hunter Middle School
High:    Central High School
    Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences Upper
    Hamilton County Collegiate High at Chattanooga State
    Sequoyah High School
    More...

Student/teacher ratio:  15.4 Help
Number of students:  617

Racial breakdown:

White:
65.0%
African American:
12.0%
Hispanic:
11.3%
more

Free/discounted lunch recipients:  28.1% Help


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Performance Trends
Help
Compare Details Wallace A. Smith Elementary School ranks better than 88.6% of elementary schools in Tennessee. (See more...)
Help
Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 86.06. (See more...)
Help
Chronic absenteeism in a high 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.
Finance
Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Wallace A. Smith Elementary School:

SchoolDigger ranks Wallace A. Smith Elementary School 116th of 1018 Tennessee public elementary schools. (See Wallace A. Smith Elementary School in the ranking list.)

Elementary 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:


Hamilton County:

SchoolDigger ranks Hamilton County 82nd of 140 Tennessee school districts. (See district ranking list.)


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Rank History for Wallace A. Smith Elementary School

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Rank History for all students at Wallace A. Smith Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools TN State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2010 86.82 92nd 809 88.6%
2011 75.75 178th 818 78.2%
2012 89.93 70th 820 91.5%
2013 77.23 165th 846 80.5%
2014 75.55 143rd 853 83.2%
2015 84.46 98th 855 88.5%
2017 90.30 17th 646 97.4%
2018 87.96 84th 997 91.6%
2019 93.53 63rd 985 93.6%
2021 92.00 74th 983 92.5%
2022 88.64 98th 1000 90.2%
2023 91.34 84th 1020 91.8%
2024 86.06 116th 1018 88.6%
See the entire list of Tennessee Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for Special Education students at Wallace A. Smith Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools TN State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 77.56 48th 395 87.8%
2019 90.52 15th 255 94.1%
2021 67.82 69th 369 81.3%
2022 83.04 43rd 447 90.4%
2023 88.91 34th 528 93.6%
2024 80.34 58th 582 90.0%
See the entire list of Best Tennessee Elementary Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Wallace A. Smith Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools TN State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 69.62 142nd 877 83.8%
2019 90.91 14th 821 98.3%
2021 94.87 10th 823 98.8%
2022 86.20 47th 858 94.5%
2023 93.98 17th 865 98.0%
2024 94.07 10th 853 98.8%
See the entire list of Best Tennessee Elementary Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at Wallace A. Smith Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools TN State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2019 90.47 73rd 926 92.1%
2021 85.79 106th 945 88.8%
2022 85.81 105th 975 89.2%
2023 88.35 98th 989 90.1%
2024 78.24 157th 990 84.1%
See the entire list of Best Tennessee Elementary Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Male students at Wallace A. Smith Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools TN State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2019 90.89 65th 916 92.9%
2021 93.41 55th 941 94.2%
2022 87.47 97th 980 90.1%
2023 91.28 78th 987 92.1%
2024 89.50 82nd 991 91.7%
See the entire list of Best Tennessee Elementary Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for African American students at Wallace A. Smith Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools TN State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 84.61 38th 450 91.6%
2019 85.26 39th 404 90.3%
2021 93.79 10th 411 97.6%
2022 96.46 8th 483 98.3%
2023 80.32 65th 500 87.0%
2024 85.37 51st 498 89.8%
See the entire list of Best Tennessee Elementary Schools for African American Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Wallace A. Smith Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools TN State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 97.51 7th 319 97.8%
2021 98.20 6th 324 98.1%
2022 98.32 6th 363 98.3%
2023 82.45 47th 387 87.9%
2024 78.75 75th 415 81.9%
See the entire list of Best Tennessee Elementary Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for White students at Wallace A. Smith Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools TN State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 84.40 103rd 841 87.8%
2019 93.18 56th 812 93.1%
2021 91.38 70th 844 91.7%
2022 85.11 106th 844 87.4%
2023 91.19 74th 852 91.3%
2024 85.74 103rd 847 87.8%
See the entire list of Best Tennessee Elementary 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.

Wallace A. Smith Elementary School Test Scores
Tests: 
  
Grades: 
  
Years: 
  
Group by: 
District Scores:
State Scores:    
  
Subgroup: 






Data source: Tennessee Department of Education

Review counts

All ratings (Avg rating: 1)
0%

0%

0%

0%

100%

  

Reviews:
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Enrollment information for Wallace A. Smith Elementary School

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Year White African American Asian Hispanic American Indian Pacific Islander Two or More Races Not Specified Total
1991 466 17 2 1 0 n/a n/a 0 486
1992 523 19 2 1 0 n/a n/a 0 545
1993 587 22 2 2 1 n/a n/a 0 614
1994 626 28 2 2 1 n/a n/a 0 659
1995 662 16 6 1 0 n/a n/a 0 685
1996 662 16 6 1 0 n/a n/a 0 685
1997 649 18 4 2 0 n/a n/a 13 686
1998 681 30 8 5 1 n/a n/a 0 725
1999 673 31 1 5 12 n/a n/a 0 722
2000 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 664 664
2001 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 663 663
2002 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 661 661
2003 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 661 661
2004 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 661 661
2005 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 691 691
2006 603 58 8 22 3 n/a n/a 0 694
2007 651 64 8 30 4 n/a n/a 0 757
2008 668 68 9 32 2 n/a n/a 0 779
2009 662 77 6 34 2 n/a n/a 0 781
2010 686 102 10 46 1 n/a n/a 0 845
2011 695 95 14 41 2 1 4 0 852
2012 699 113 11 43 1 1 4 0 872
2013 657 105 11 46 0 2 12 0 833
2014 568 90 11 40 0 2 17 0 728
2015 508 94 10 35 1 1 17 0 666
2016 500 87 12 46 2 0 20 0 667
2017 482 76 12 39 2 0 20 0 631
2018 449 83 9 39 1 0 21 0 602
2019 440 82 5 52 1 0 44 0 624
2020 429 89 5 53 0 0 57 0 633
2021 404 75 6 52 0 0 59 0 596
2022 414 63 9 49 0 0 57 0 592
2023 401 74 6 70 0 0 66 0 617

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 Wallace A. Smith Elementary School

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Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1991 486 25.0 19.4 n/a
1992 545 25.0 21.8 n/a
1993 614 25.0 24.6 n/a
1994 659 35.0 18.8 n/a
1995 685 36.0 19.0 n/a
1996 685 36.0 19.0 n/a
1997 686 n/a 0.0 n/a
1998 725 n/a 0.0 n/a
1999 722 n/a 0.0 n/a
2000 664 n/a 0.0 n/a
2001 663 n/a 0.0 n/a
2002 661 n/a n/a n/a
2003 661 n/a n/a n/a
2004 661 n/a n/a n/a
2005 691 n/a n/a n/a
2006 694 39.0 17.8 n/a
2007 757 45.0 16.8 22.6
2008 779 45.6 17.1 24
2009 781 50.0 15.6 25.4
2010 845 51.9 16.2 25.3
2011 852 51.6 16.5 33
2012 872 54.0 16.1 33
2013 833 53.0 15.7 31.8
2014 728 48.4 15.0 28.8
2015 666 46.0 14.4 28.7
2016 667 45.0 14.8 28
2017 631 41.4 15.2 n/a
2018 602 38.9 15.4 n/a
2019 624 39.9 15.6 n/a
2020 633 41.0 15.4 28.1
2021 596 36.7 16.2 n/a
2022 592 37.0 16.0 n/a
2023 617 39.8 15.4 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 Wallace A. Smith Elementary School

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Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1991 486 25.0 19.4 n/a
1992 545 25.0 21.8 n/a
1993 614 25.0 24.6 n/a
1994 659 35.0 18.8 n/a
1995 685 36.0 19.0 n/a
1996 685 36.0 19.0 n/a
1997 686 n/a 0.0 n/a
1998 725 n/a 0.0 n/a
1999 722 n/a 0.0 n/a
2000 664 n/a 0.0 n/a
2001 663 n/a 0.0 n/a
2002 661 n/a n/a n/a
2003 661 n/a n/a n/a
2004 661 n/a n/a n/a
2005 691 n/a n/a n/a
2006 694 39.0 17.8 n/a
2007 757 45.0 16.8 22.6
2008 779 45.6 17.1 24
2009 781 50.0 15.6 25.4
2010 845 51.9 16.2 25.3
2011 852 51.6 16.5 33
2012 872 54.0 16.1 33
2013 833 53.0 15.7 31.8
2014 728 48.4 15.0 28.8
2015 666 46.0 14.4 28.7
2016 667 45.0 14.8 28
2017 631 41.4 15.2 n/a
2018 602 38.9 15.4 n/a
2019 624 39.9 15.6 n/a
2020 633 41.0 15.4 28.1
2021 596 36.7 16.2 n/a
2022 592 37.0 16.0 n/a
2023 617 39.8 15.4 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 Wallace A. Smith Elementary School

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YearExpenditures from Federal FundsExpenditures from State and Local FundsTotal Expenditures Per Pupil (All Funds)
2019 $720 (7.5%) $8,461 (88.0%) $9,615
2020 $664 (6.3%) $9,292 (88.7%) $10,476
2021 $960 (8.9%) $9,403 (86.9%) $10,821
2022 $1,583 (14.0%) $9,186 (81.3%) $11,297
2023 $1,026 (8.9%) $9,883 (85.8%) $11,522

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

Impact of COVID-19 on Wallace A. Smith Elementary 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 63rd of 985 Elementary schoolsRanks 84th of 1020 Elementary schools
 1.8%

Test Scores

% proficient
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
% proficient
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
3rd Grade Mathematics (Wallace A. Smith Elementary School)68.359.8
 8.5%
   3rd Grade Mathematics (Hamilton County)47.541
 6.5%
   3rd Grade Mathematics (Tennessee)43.840.5
 3.3%
3rd Grade English Language Arts (Wallace A. Smith Elementary School)62.262.9
 0.7%
   3rd Grade English Language Arts (Hamilton County)36.140.6
 4.5%
   3rd Grade English Language Arts (Tennessee)36.940.5
 3.6%
4th Grade Mathematics (Wallace A. Smith Elementary School)67.977
 9.1%
   4th Grade Mathematics (Hamilton County)4946.6
 2.4%
   4th Grade Mathematics (Tennessee)4643.6
 2.4%
4th Grade English Language Arts (Wallace A. Smith Elementary School)6675.2
 9.2%
   4th Grade English Language Arts (Hamilton County)38.243.9
 5.7%
   4th Grade English Language Arts (Tennessee)34.343.5
 9.2%
5th Grade Mathematics (Wallace A. Smith Elementary School)71.368.5
 2.8%
   5th Grade Mathematics (Hamilton County)47.649.6
 2%
   5th Grade Mathematics (Tennessee)46.241.3
 4.9%
5th Grade English Language Arts (Wallace A. Smith Elementary School)60.462.2
 1.8%
   5th Grade English Language Arts (Hamilton County)34.240.3
 6.1%
   5th Grade English Language Arts (Tennessee)35.237
 1.8%
All Grades Mathematics (Wallace A. Smith Elementary School)69.268.5
 0.7%
   All Grades Mathematics (Hamilton County)43.239.9
 3.3%
   All Grades Mathematics (Tennessee)40.838.1
 2.7%
All Grades English Language Arts (Wallace A. Smith Elementary School)6366.7
 3.7%
   All Grades English Language Arts (Hamilton County)33.437.3
 3.9%
   All Grades English Language Arts (Tennessee)33.736.6
 2.9%

Student Body

Number of students
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Number of students
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Total Students624617
 1.1%
African American8274
 9.8%
American Indian10
 100%
Asian56
 20%
Hispanic5270
 34.6%
Pacific Islander00
White440401
 8.9%
Two or More Races4466
 50%


Schools Near Wallace A. Smith Elementary School









Frequently Asked Questions about Wallace A. Smith Elementary School

Students at Wallace A. Smith Elementary School are 65% White, 12% African American, 11% Hispanic, 11% Two or more races.

In the 2022-23 school year, 617 students attended Wallace A. Smith Elementary School.

Wallace A. Smith Elementary School ranks 116th of 1018 Tennessee elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.


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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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