Woodland Elementary vs North Side Elementary

North Side Elementary holds an overall rating of 9.7 out of 10, sitting 0.8 points above Woodland Elementary's 8.9. In state rank, that gap widens considerably: North Side Elementary places #2 of 1,785 Tennessee elementary schools, while Woodland Elementary ranks #62 of 1,785. Both results represent the top four percent of every elementary school in the state, but the difference between second and sixty-second is genuine. For families where statewide standing functions as a proxy for school quality, North Side Elementary's position is difficult to argue past.

The academic proficiency scores are nearly identical — Woodland Elementary posts a 9.7 and North Side Elementary a 9.6, a one-tenth split that is functionally a wash. Growth is where the schools diverge in a way that matters: North Side Elementary scores 9.9 on academic growth against Woodland Elementary's 9.5, a 0.4-point gap that indicates North Side is adding more measurable value to student learning year over year. Because growth accounts for a meaningful share of the composite rating, North Side's edge there — despite Woodland Elementary's marginal academic lead — drives the overall difference between the two schools.

Woodland Elementary enrolls 537 students compared to North Side Elementary's 357, a difference of 180 students. That scale shows up directly in classroom density: Woodland Elementary runs a 15.8:1 student-teacher ratio, while North Side Elementary's is 12.3:1. Students at North Side Elementary share their teacher with roughly 3.5 fewer classmates on average — a structural advantage for families who prioritize access to individual instruction, particularly in the early elementary grades where foundational skill-building is time-intensive.

Both Woodland Elementary and North Side Elementary serve prekindergarten through fifth grade and sit 2.6 miles apart within Johnson City. No program-level distinction separates them in the available data. The decision comes down to the quantitative differences already established: North Side Elementary's smaller class sizes and higher growth score versus Woodland Elementary's larger student body and equivalent academic proficiency.