Best High Schools in Decatur, AL

There are five high schools serving the Decatur, Alabama area, spanning grades 9-12 across the Decatur City and Morgan County districts, with a total enrollment of roughly 2,700 students.

For parents, the standout choice is clearly Priceville High School, which ranks 34th in the state (91st percentile) with a 5-star rating. It dramatically outperforms the Decatur City schools in every subject—its 60.38% science proficiency is nearly five times higher than Career Academies of Decatur (12.2%)—and it boasts a 98.3% graduation rate. Interestingly, Priceville achieves these results with the highest student-teacher ratio (18.7) and lowest per-student spending ($10,170) among schools with data, while serving a much lower poverty population (27.27% free/reduced lunch). In contrast, Austin High School (52nd percentile) and Decatur High School (49th percentile) sit near the state average, with Austin showing a troubling decline from 94th to 183rd in rankings over one year. Career Academies ranks 307th (19th percentile) despite having the smallest class sizes (9.9 ratio), highlighting that concentrated poverty (73.23% free/reduced lunch) is a powerful challenge that resources alone haven't overcome.

Several insights stand out. Decatur High has the lowest chronic absenteeism rate (4.0%) in the dataset—better than the state average and Priceville—yet still scores below state averages, showing attendance isn't the sole driver of achievement. The Decatur High Developmental program serves just 37 students with the highest poverty rate (75.68%) and a 24.1% absenteeism rate, making it a specialized program that shouldn't be compared directly to traditional schools. Finally, spending shows no clear correlation with outcomes: Priceville outperforms with 21-28% less per-student spending than the Decatur City schools, suggesting socioeconomic factors and district efficiency matter more than raw expenditure. The Morgan County district (66th percentile) clearly outpaces Decatur City (37th percentile), pointing to systemic disparities that policymakers will need to address beyond school walls.