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William R Martin Middle School

Q: Is William R Martin Middle School a good school?

William R Martin Middle School ranks 318 th of 439 Alabama middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 1 star out of 5.

Public Grades 7-8

318^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 439 Alabama Middle Schools

Better than 28% of Alabama middle schools

Summary

William R Martin Middle School is a public middle school in Valley Grande, Alabama, serving 196 students in grades 7-8. The school is part of the Dallas County School District, which is ranked 121 out of 135 districts in the state and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

William R Martin Middle School has consistently underperformed compared to state and county averages in academic proficiency across various subjects and grade levels. For example, in the 2024-2025 school year, only 11.22% of 7th-grade students were proficient or better in Mathematics, compared to the state average of 24.08% and the Dallas County average of 6.42%. The school's performance in English Language Arts and Science is slightly better but still below state and county averages. The school's high rates of chronic absenteeism, ranging from 14.8% to 39.3% over the past few years, are a significant concern and likely contribute to the overall academic challenges.

When compared to the nearby Tipton Durant Middle School and The RBHudson STEAM Academy, William R Martin Middle School generally performs better, but all three schools struggle with low academic proficiency and high rates of chronic absenteeism. This suggests that the challenges facing these schools may be systemic issues within the broader Dallas County and Selma City school districts, rather than being specific to William R Martin Middle School alone.

180

Students ?

24.0

Student/teacher ratio ?

$9,601

Per pupil spending ?

85%

Free/discounted lunch ?

2863 County Road 81
Valley Grande, AL 36703-9013

(334) 872-6417

District: Dallas County

Students who attend William R Martin Middle School usually attend:

High:

Dallas County High School

Feeder schools for William R Martin Middle School:

Elementary:	Brantley Elementary School
	JE Terry Elementary School
	Valley Grande Elementary School

Racial breakdown:

African American:

72.2%

White:

17.8%

Two or more races:

8.9%

See top rated Alabama middle schools

Compare William R Martin Middle School to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Rebounding — 19th percentile in 2022 → 28th in 2025

Strengths

✓Ranking is rebounding — up to 28th (2025) from a 19th-percentile low (2022)

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Alabama average (27% vs 40% meeting standards)

!High chronic absenteeism (36% vs 12% Alabama)

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school27%

District avg45%

Alabama avg40%

318^th of 439

Alabama public middle schools ?

Bottom 28%▼ down 5 pts since 2015

From bottom 33% (2015) to bottom 28% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Alabama Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

1^st of 2Middle Schools in the Dallas County

121^st of 135Dallas 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	28.4	318 of 439	27.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	41.1	261 of 442	41.0%	★★☆☆☆
2023	34.2	293 of 437	33.0%	★★☆☆☆
2022	20.3	350 of 432	19.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	25.2	337 of 440	23.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	41.6	270 of 437	38.2%	★★☆☆☆
2018	36.5	285 of 423	32.6%	★★☆☆☆
2017	35.8	294 of 432	31.9%	★★☆☆☆
2016	32.6	303 of 432	29.9%	★★☆☆☆
2015	35.2	288 of 430	33.0%	★★☆☆☆
2014	46.1	245 of 438	44.1%	★★☆☆☆
2013	37.2	332 of 436	23.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	33.9	321 of 436	26.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	29.7	331 of 435	23.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	19.9	369 of 435	15.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	11.7	400 of 425	5.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2008	24.4	344 of 417	17.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	38.7	275 of 412	33.3%	★★☆☆☆
2006	40.0	269 of 409	34.2%	★★☆☆☆
2005	42.4	257 of 415	38.1%	★★☆☆☆
2004	44.5	233 of 407	42.8%	★★☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2025	51.8	95 of 259	63.3%	★★★☆☆
2024	59.2	78 of 269	71.0%	★★★★☆
2023	55.7	83 of 263	68.4%	★★★☆☆
2022	28.7	204 of 271	24.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	34.1	167 of 266	37.2%	★★☆☆☆
2019	64.0	53 of 252	79.0%	★★★★☆
2018	56.4	87 of 247	64.8%	★★★☆☆
2017	51.2	71 of 205	65.4%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2025	27.8	314 of 415	24.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	48.7	206 of 426	51.6%	★★★☆☆
2023	41.1	247 of 417	40.8%	★★☆☆☆
2022	19.9	348 of 423	17.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	28.7	312 of 415	24.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	43.9	244 of 399	38.8%	★★☆☆☆
2018	33.4	284 of 392	27.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	30.3	289 of 380	23.9%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2025	34.1	293 of 428	31.5%	★★☆☆☆
2024	46.6	217 of 437	50.3%	★★★☆☆
2023	36.7	268 of 410	34.6%	★★☆☆☆
2022	21.6	355 of 421	15.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	31.9	293 of 415	29.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	51.0	193 of 396	51.3%	★★★☆☆
2018	36.6	264 of 396	33.3%	★★☆☆☆
2017	47.1	183 of 349	47.6%	★★☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2025	29.8	301 of 422	28.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	34.9	286 of 428	33.2%	★★☆☆☆
2023	27.9	321 of 419	23.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	21.2	351 of 427	17.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	22.2	331 of 418	20.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	36.2	268 of 399	32.8%	★★☆☆☆
2018	40.5	241 of 397	39.3%	★★☆☆☆
2017	38.6	238 of 380	37.4%	★★☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2025	18.8	258 of 271	4.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	48.9	111 of 281	60.5%	★★★☆☆
2022	30.9	196 of 256	23.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	19.5	262 of 274	4.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	65.8	50 of 254	80.3%	★★★★☆
2018	25.7	184 of 223	17.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	44.1	98 of 195	49.7%	★★★☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2025	25.3	305 of 377	19.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	39.9	218 of 373	41.6%	★★☆☆☆
2023	33.8	247 of 370	33.2%	★★☆☆☆
2022	26.5	295 of 376	21.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	34.6	243 of 369	34.1%	★★☆☆☆
2019	32.4	244 of 343	28.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	28.0	250 of 331	24.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	29.6	181 of 247	26.7%	★☆☆☆☆

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)

African American (2025)63rd percentile+36 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)32nd percentile+4 vs school

Male (2025)29th percentile~ school

Female (2025)24th percentile-3 vs school

White (2025)19th percentile-8 vs school

Special Education (2025)5th percentile-23 vs school

By subject vs Alabama (2024-2025) ?

English45%-11 vs state

Science29%-13 vs state

Mathematics7%-17 vs state

★

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Schools Near William R Martin 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 6th Grade	Summative Assessment Mathematics 7th Grade	Summative Assessment Mathematics 8th Grade	Summative Assessment Science 8th 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
William R Martin Middle School	Public	7-8	2863 County Road 81	Valley Grande	36703	Dallas County	Dallas County	No	No	No	Yes	(334) 872-6417	180	8	24.0	85.0%	32 (17.8%)	130 (72.2%)	1 (0.6%)	1 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (8.9%)	28.4	318^th of 439 public middle schools	27.6%		41.1	261^st of 442 public middle schools	41.0%	57		11.2	2.6	29.0		39.8	50.0	$9,601	$1,507	$8,071
The RBHudson STEAM Academy	Public	7-8	1701 Summerfield Rd	Selma	36701	Dallas County	Selma City	No	No	No	Yes	(334) 874-1675	279	22	12.9	93.2%	0 (0.0%)	273 (97.8%)	3 (1.1%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.7%)	13.6	391^st of 439 public middle schools	10.9%		12.5	395^th of 442 public middle schools	10.6%	4		0.8	5.7	15.5		40.0	19.7	$10,243	$1,965	$8,271
School Of Discovery Genesis Center	Public, Magnet	6	400 Washington St	Selma	36703	Dallas County	Selma City	No	Yes	No	Yes	(334) 874-1670																			(n/a)								$10,162	$2,062	$8,093
Tipton Durant Middle School	Public	6-8	2500 Tipton St	Selma	36701	Dallas County	Dallas County	No	No	No	Yes	(334) 872-8080	176	7	24.0	92.6%	2 (1.1%)	163 (92.6%)	4 (2.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (4.0%)	5.9	437^th of 439 public middle schools	0.5%		8.6	427^th of 442 public middle schools	3.4%	10	0.0	0.0	0.0	7.4	17.3	18.8	18.5	$13,056	$6,699	$6,335

Frequently Asked Questions about William R Martin Middle School

Is William R Martin Middle School a good school?

William R Martin Middle School ranks 318^th of 439 Alabama middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 1 star out of 5.

What high school do graduates of William R Martin Middle School attend?

Students who attend William R Martin Middle School usually go on to attend Dallas County High School

How many students attend William R Martin Middle School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 180 students attended William R Martin Middle School.

What is the racial makeup of William R Martin Middle School?

Students at William R Martin Middle School are 72% African American, 18% White, 9% Two or more races.

What district is William R Martin Middle School in?

Dallas County

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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.