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South Highlands Middle School

Public Grades 5-8

403^rd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 439 Alabama Middle Schools

Better than 8% of Alabama middle schools

Summary

South Highlands Middle School is a public middle school in Union Springs, Alabama, serving 383 students in grades 5-8. The school is part of the Bullock County School District, which is ranked 120 out of 135 districts in the state and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

South Highlands Middle School consistently ranks in the bottom 10-15% of Alabama middle schools, with a 0-star rating for most years. The school's academic performance, as measured by proficiency rates in Summative Assessments, is significantly below the state averages across all grade levels and subject areas. For example, in 2024-2025, the school's proficiency rates in Mathematics ranged from 2.97% to 13.64%, compared to the state averages of 24.08% to 39.31%. The school's performance is also lower than the Bullock County district averages, indicating that South Highlands Middle School is underperforming compared to other schools in the same district.

The school faces significant challenges, including a high percentage of students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, ranging from 81.2% to 81.37% in recent years. Additionally, South Highlands Middle School has experienced high rates of chronic absenteeism, ranging from 14.8% to 43.6% in recent years, which is significantly higher than the state average. The school's relatively high student-teacher ratio and lower per-student spending compared to the state average may also be contributing factors to the academic challenges faced by the school.

382

Students ?

17.3

Student/teacher ratio ?

$7,701

Per pupil spending ?

87.4%

Free/discounted lunch ?

700 Bernard Street
Union Springs, AL 36089-0111

(334) 651-0183

District: Bullock County

Students who attend South Highlands Middle School usually attend:

High:

Bullock County High School

Feeder schools for South Highlands Middle School:

Elementary:

Union Springs Elementary School

Racial breakdown:

African American:

78.0%

Hispanic:

21.2%

White:

0.5%

See top rated Alabama middle schools

Compare South Highlands Middle School to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 11th percentile in 2015 → 8th in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Alabama average (18% vs 44% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (8th percentile)

!High chronic absenteeism (28% vs 12% Alabama)

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school18%

District avg18%

Alabama avg44%

403^rd of 439

Alabama public middle schools ?

Bottom 8%▼ down 3 pts since 2015

See the entire ranking list of Alabama Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

120^th of 135Bullock County among Alabama districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2025	12.1	403 of 439	8.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	11.1	408 of 442	7.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	12.1	396 of 437	9.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	9.4	411 of 432	4.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	10.5	423 of 440	3.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	5.8	425 of 437	2.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	12.2	366 of 423	13.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	10.1	387 of 432	10.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	9.8	394 of 432	8.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2015	12.8	383 of 430	10.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2014	7.1	429 of 438	2.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2013	13.9	403 of 436	7.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2012	29.7	336 of 436	22.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	27.7	340 of 435	21.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	26.5	352 of 435	19.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	28.4	338 of 425	20.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	17.0	375 of 417	10.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	6.1	396 of 412	3.9%	☆☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2025	23.4	219 of 259	15.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	26.2	208 of 269	22.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	29.5	194 of 263	26.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	21.0	240 of 271	11.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	21.3	238 of 266	10.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	17.4	237 of 252	6.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	33.9	159 of 247	35.6%	★★☆☆☆
2017	21.4	184 of 205	10.2%	★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2025	61.8	25 of 117	78.6%	★★★★☆
2024	55.4	26 of 106	75.5%	★★★★☆
2023	52.3	27 of 94	71.3%	★★★★☆
2022	34.2	55 of 81	32.1%	★★☆☆☆
2021	41.8	31 of 70	55.7%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2025	13.9	372 of 415	10.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	12.3	386 of 426	9.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	13.3	373 of 417	10.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	8.7	414 of 423	2.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	10.9	398 of 415	4.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	7.5	379 of 399	5.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	15.0	338 of 392	13.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	8.7	359 of 380	5.5%	☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2025	36.3	108 of 173	37.6%	★★☆☆☆
2024	16.0	153 of 164	6.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	16.4	153 of 166	7.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	13.2	151 of 157	3.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	16.3	146 of 154	5.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	11.2	116 of 124	6.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	18.3	100 of 113	11.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	17.0	100 of 108	7.4%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2025	17.6	377 of 428	11.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	13.8	396 of 437	9.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	17.5	365 of 410	11.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	11.6	407 of 421	3.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	12.7	401 of 415	3.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	6.9	385 of 396	2.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	15.4	347 of 396	12.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	8.8	332 of 349	4.9%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2025	11.5	390 of 422	7.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	12.0	391 of 428	8.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	12.5	386 of 419	7.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	12.0	391 of 427	8.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	11.1	403 of 418	3.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	5.5	391 of 399	2.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	13.1	348 of 397	12.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	12.3	338 of 380	11.1%	★☆☆☆☆

Native American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2025	39.7	35 of 66	47.0%	★★★☆☆
2024	19.9	57 of 69	17.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	20.6	52 of 61	14.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	17.0	61 of 65	6.2%	☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2023	21.2	260 of 281	7.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	16.6	253 of 256	1.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	25.8	231 of 274	15.7%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2021	6.6	367 of 369	0.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	1.5	343 of 343	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

English Language Learner (2025)79th percentile+70 vs school

Native American (2025)47th percentile+39 vs school

Hispanic (2025)38th percentile+29 vs school

African American (2025)15th percentile+7 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)12th percentile+4 vs school

Female (2025)10th percentile~ school

Male (2025)8th percentile~ school

Special Education (2023)7th percentile~ school

White (2021)1st percentile-3 vs school

By subject vs Alabama (2024-2025) ?

English32%-26 vs state

Mathematics7%-24 vs state

Science4%-37 vs state

★

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Schools Near South Highlands Middle School

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				Summative Assessment Mathematics (2025)				Summative Assessment Science (2025)	Summative Assessment English (2025)				Per Pupil Expenditures (2019)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	Summative Assessment Mathematics 5th Grade	Summative Assessment Mathematics 6th Grade	Summative Assessment Mathematics 7th Grade	Summative Assessment Mathematics 8th Grade	Summative Assessment Science 8th Grade	Summative Assessment English 5th Grade	Summative Assessment English 6th Grade	Summative Assessment English 7th Grade	Summative Assessment English 8th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
South Highlands Middle School	Public	5-8	700 Bernard Street	Union Springs	36089	Bullock County	Bullock County	No	No	No	Yes	(334) 651-0183	382	22	17.3	87.4%	2 (0.5%)	298 (78.0%)	81 (21.2%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	12.1	403^rd of 439 public middle schools	8.2%		11.1	408^th of 442 public middle schools	7.7%	5	13.6	3.4	3.0	7.3	4.2	36.8	38.2	22.0	32.6	$7,701	$1,671	$6,014

Frequently Asked Questions about South Highlands Middle School

What district is South Highlands Middle School in?

Bullock County

What is the racial makeup of South Highlands Middle School?

Students at South Highlands Middle School are 78% African American, 21% Hispanic.

How many students attend South Highlands Middle School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 382 students attended South Highlands Middle School.

What high school do graduates of South Highlands Middle School attend?

Students who attend South Highlands Middle School usually go on to attend Bullock County High School

Is South Highlands Middle School a good school?

South Highlands Middle School ranks in the bottom 8.2% of Alabama middle schools.

Rate South Highlands Middle School!

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Schools in Union Springs, AL

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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Alabama State 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.