By Mike Hutchens, UC Schools Communications Director
Union City High School has maintained its lofty ranking in the statewide ACT pecking order.
Students at UCHS combined to average a 21.5 score last year – ranking seventh in the state and among the top five percent of more than 125 Tennessee district school districts.
The lofty composite test score continued a trend of the last several years that has seen Union City Schools atop the list of rural West Tennessee schools and ahead of almost all much larger districts.
The data released by the Tennessee Department of Education noted a rise from last year (21.3) for UC students.
This year, Union City trailed only Williamson County, Germantown, Collierville, Arlington, Maryville, and Oak Ridge. Dyer County was tied with UCHS for 7th.
The achievement was the latest for Union City Schools as it was earlier announced that all three schools in the Union City System have received the letter grade ‘A’ for 2024-25 in State Report Card data released by the TDE.
Additionally, each of Union City’s three campuses was recognized as a Federal Reward School for 2024-25, with each also earning Level 5 status in federal accountability. Collectively, the system was lauded as an Exemplary District, one of just 14 systems in the state to earn such a prestigious designation.
“Incredible… What an amazing accomplishment!” Union City Director of Schools Wes Kennedy said of the ACT news. “To regularly achieve this standing among the upper echelon in the entire state – given our socio-economic standing and the per-capita family income of our area – is a fantastic feat for our students, teachers, and administration.
“‘Commitment to excellence’ is more than just a slogan at Union City Schools. The commitment and work ethic of everyone involved is simply second to none. Accomplishments like this can only happen when everyone works toward a common team goal, and I’m honored to be a part of such an incredible collective effort.”
Of the Union City students who graduated last year and took the ACT, 64 percent scored 21 or better. That figure is considerably higher than the state average, with the 21-mark significant as Tennessee public school graduates become eligible for the HOPE scholarship by scoring that composite total.
There are currently 17 UCHS students who are members of the prestigious 30+ ACT Club, qualifying them for even more scholarship monies.
A deeper dive into test data orchestrated by UCHS Principal Jacob Cross revealed even more impressive feats for Union City students.
ACT provides statistics to show how subgroups perform, and the UCHS subgroup, ‘Economically Disadvantaged’ students, ranked number two in the state compared to that subgroup at all other Tennessee Schools.
The subgroup of ‘Black/Hispanic/Native American’ UCHS students ranked 6th in the state.
Cross, who noted that Union City’s continued ACT success begins in the elementary school with reading strategies and foundational math skills, also revealed that test statistics listed UCHS fifth in the English subtest, sixth in Math, and 11th in reading.
The standardized ACT covers multiple academic skill areas and provides essential measures to understand students’ college and career readiness and how Tennessee prepares the next generation to transition to post-secondary opportunities.