Summary:
The city of Abbeville, Alabama, is served by two public schools within the Henry County district: Abbeville Elementary School (grades PK-6) and Abbeville High School (grades 7-12), together enrolling about 604 students in a predominantly low-income area where roughly three-quarters of students qualify for free or reduced lunch.
Both schools face significant academic challenges, consistently scoring well below district and state averages in math, English, and science. Abbeville Elementary School (338 students) has a more favorable student-teacher ratio of 12.4:1 and a chronic absenteeism rate of 10.0%—better than the state average of 12.0%. However, its math proficiency rates are strikingly low, with only 5.56% of 6th graders proficient compared to 35.22% statewide. Abbeville High School (266 students) has an even lower ratio of 11:1 and spends more per student ($11,616 vs. $10,642), yet its outcomes are weaker. The high school’s chronic absenteeism is 15.6%, and its 8th grade math proficiency is 0%—a complete absence of grade-level mastery. English performance is a relative strength at both schools, with 5th graders reaching 51.28% proficiency, but 11th grade English drops to just 5.41%.
Despite these low test scores, Abbeville High School maintains a 92.0% graduation rate, above the state average of 91.5%, suggesting students may be advancing without meeting academic benchmarks. Both schools rank in the bottom 15% of Alabama schools, with the high school declining from the 16th to 11th percentile over the past year. The dramatic drop in performance from elementary to high school grades—especially in math—points to a need for targeted interventions at the middle school transition. While the elementary school’s attendance is a positive, the overall picture is one of persistent underperformance, with socioeconomic factors and rising absenteeism likely compounding the challenges.
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