Alabama’s report cards came out last Friday, and of the 139 school districts and six charter schools that received grades, 24 earned an ‘A.’
Seventeen of those were repeat performers from the 2018-19 school year, but five earned their first ‘A’ ever this year.
The 24 ‘A’ districts have a few things in common beyond scoring higher than the state in most every category. They are all city school districts, meaning they are generally smaller in size and population and have more resources than county schools, and none have earned lower than a ‘B’ since letter-grading began in 2017.
The four county systems that earned A’s in 2019 all dropped to B’s for 2022.
Three districts -- Piedmont City, Fort Payne City and Dale County -- had more than half of their students in poverty, higher than the state’s overall 48% poverty rate.
Five districts also had all schools in the district make an ‘A’:
- Hoover City schools - 16 schools
- Madison City schools - 11 schools
- Mountain Brook City schools - 6 schools
- Piedmont City schools - 3 schools
- Vestavia Hills City schools - 9 schools
Here’s more information about Alabama’s ‘A’ districts, their schools and their report cards, from highest ‘A’ to lowest ‘A.’ Where districts had the same total points, the order in which they’re listed is by highest graduation rate (which is for the class of 2021):
Mountain Brook City - ranked #1 - 98 points overall - Graduation rate 98.4%
0.3% student poverty level
Total enrollment - 4,301
English language arts proficiency - 84%
Math proficiency - 77%
Science proficiency - 80%
Vestavia Hills City - ranked #2 - 96 points - Graduation rate - 96.1%
2.9% student poverty level
Total enrollment - 7,023
English language arts proficiency - 83%
Math proficiency - 72%
Science proficiency - 79%
Trussville City - ranked #3 - 95 points - Graduation rate 97.9%
4.9% student poverty level
Total enrollment - 4,885
English language arts proficiency - 75%
Math proficiency - 56%
Science proficiency - 67%
Piedmont City - tied for 4th - 94 points - Graduation rate 100%
63.3% student poverty level
Total enrollment - 1,077
English language arts proficiency - 58%
Math proficiency - 52%
Science proficiency - 47%
Saraland City - tied for 4th - 94 points - Graduation rate - 95.9%
26.6% student poverty level
Total enrollment - 3,220
English language arts proficiency - 72%
Math proficiency - 58%
Science proficiency - 64%
Auburn City - four-way tie for 6th - 93 points - Graduation rate 96.4%
25.1% student poverty level
Total enrollment - 9,308
English language arts proficiency - 67%
Math proficiency - 54%
Science proficiency - 60%
Homewood City - four-way tie for 6th - 93 points - Graduation rate 95%
16.2% student poverty level
Total enrollment - 4,216
English language arts proficiency - 75%
Math proficiency - 59%
Science proficiency - 68%
Hoover City - four-way tie for 6th - 93 points - Graduation rate 94.2%
24.2% student poverty level
Total enrollment - 13,372
English language arts proficiency - 70%
Math proficiency - 56%
Science proficiency - 60%
Madison City - four-way tie for 6th - 93 points - Graduation rate 93.8%
10.1% student poverty level
Total enrollment - 11,988
English language arts proficiency - 73%
Math proficiency - 57%
Science proficiency - 62%
Winfield City - four-way tie for 10th - 92 points - Graduation rate 96.2%
39.5% student poverty level
Total enrollment - 1,214
English language arts proficiency - 59%
Math proficiency - 40%
Science proficiency - 45%
Gulf Shores City - four-way tie for 10th - 92 points - Graduation rate 95.5%
11.7% student poverty level
Total enrollment - 2,268
English language arts proficiency - 64%
Math proficiency - 42%
Science proficiency - 58%
*The district opened in 2019-20 so this is the first time they’ve been graded
Hartselle City - four-way tie for 10th - 92 points - Graduation rate 94.8%
16% student poverty level
Total enrollment - 3,464
English language arts proficiency - 65%
Math proficiency - 47%
Science proficiency - 57%
Arab City - four-way tie for 10th - 92 points - Graduation rate 92.6%
18.1% student poverty level
Total enrollment - 2,536
English language arts proficiency - 64%
Math proficiency - 55%
Science proficiency - 54%
Oneonta City - five-way tie for 14th - 91 points - Graduation rate 97.9%
37.2% student poverty level
Total enrollment - 1,425
English language arts proficiency - 66%
Math proficiency - 35%
Science proficiency - 59%
Pike Road City - five-way tie for 14th - 91 points - Graduation rate 97.5%
14.4% student poverty level
Total enrollment - 2,603
English language arts proficiency - 64%
Math proficiency - 34%
Science proficiency - 50%
*This is the first time the district earned an ‘A’
Andalusia City - five-way tie for 14th - 91 points - Graduation rate 97.3%
47.7% student poverty level
Total enrollment - 1,177
English language arts proficiency - 51%
Math proficiency - 43%
Science proficiency - 40%
*This is the first time the district earned an ‘A’
Muscle Shoals City - five-way tie for 14th - 91 points - Graduation rate 96.3%
25.7% student poverty level
Total enrollment - 1,798
English language arts proficiency - 64%
Math proficiency - 51%
Science proficiency - 50%
Cullman City - five-way tie for 14th - 91 points - Graduation rate 93.8%
19.7% student poverty level
Total enrollment - 3,194
English language arts proficiency - 70%
Math proficiency - 53%
Science proficiency - 62%
Russellville City - six-way tie for 19th - 90 points - Graduation rate 98.9%
24.1% student poverty level
Total enrollment - 2,458
English language arts proficiency - 43%
Math proficiency - 31%
Science proficiency - 42%
*This is the first time the district earned an ‘A’
Russellville City is one of two in Alabama with a majority Hispanic student population
Dale County - six-way tie for 19th - 90 points - Graduation rate 97.7%
56.7% student poverty level
Total enrollment - 3,166
English language arts proficiency - 52%
Math proficiency - 39%
Science proficiency - 38%
Fort Payne City - six-way tie for 19th - 90 points - Graduation rate 97.1%
60% student poverty level
Total enrollment - 3,368
English language arts proficiency - 50%
Math proficiency - 34%
Science proficiency - 33%
*This is the first time the district earned an ‘A’
Alabaster City - six-way tie for 19th - 90 points - Graduation rate 97.1%
27% student poverty level
Total enrollment - 6,241
English language arts proficiency - 57%
Math proficiency - 35%
Science proficiency - 41%
Opp City - six-way tie for 19th - 90 points - Graduation rate 96.6%
40.7% student poverty level
Total enrollment - 1,222
English language arts proficiency - 53%
Math proficiency - 33%
Science proficiency - 40%
Satsuma City - six-way tie for 19th - 90 points - Graduation rate 95.7%
41.7% student poverty level
Total enrollment - 1,485
English language arts proficiency - 56%
Math proficiency - 39%
Science proficiency - 49%
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