Best High Schools in Cherokee, AL

Cherokee, Alabama is served by a single high school, Cherokee High School, which enrolls 206 students across grades 7 through 12 as part of the Colbert County district.

For parents, the most important takeaway is that Cherokee High School offers a very favorable student-teacher ratio of 10.3, which suggests smaller class sizes and more opportunity for individualized attention. The school also posts a solid graduation rate of 92.1%, slightly above the state average. However, academic performance is mixed. The school shows a clear strength in 7th-grade English, where 62% of students were proficient in 2024-2025, beating both district and state averages. On the other hand, math proficiency is a serious concern, particularly in 11th grade, where only 3.57% of students were proficient in 2024-2025—a dramatic gap compared to the state average of 23.71%. Science scores also lag, though they improved significantly in the preliminary 2025-2026 data, jumping from 10.71% to 28.13% proficiency.

One of the most striking issues is chronic absenteeism, which sits at 23.7%—nearly double the state average of 12.0%. This is especially puzzling given the above-average graduation rate, suggesting that while regular attendees succeed, a large portion of the student body is frequently missing school. The school also serves a predominantly economically disadvantaged population, with 63.59% of students eligible for free or reduced lunch. Despite spending $13,870 per student and maintaining a low student-teacher ratio, outcomes remain below state averages in most subjects. The good news is that the school's state ranking rebounded strongly in 2025-2026 (224th out of 380) after a dip the previous year, indicating a promising upward trajectory driven by gains in upper-grade math and science.