Best Public Schools in Elberta, AL

Elberta, Alabama is served by three public schools within the Baldwin County district, which collectively educate roughly 2,045 students from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. The standout performer is Elberta Middle School, which has earned a 5-star rating and now ranks in the top 7% of all middle schools in the state, having jumped 30 positions in a single year. This school is an academic powerhouse, particularly in 8th-grade science where 87.32% of students are proficient—a remarkable 33.2 percentage points above the state average—and in 7th-grade English, which exceeds the state by 29.31 points. In contrast, Elberta High School has slipped from the 90th to the 83rd percentile over two years, while Elberta Elementary School remains a steady 4-star performer, slowly improving its state ranking from 158th to 149th.

Across all grade levels, Elberta students consistently outperform state averages in math, English, and science, with the largest advantages appearing in the middle grades. The elementary school shows strong foundations, with 5th-grade math proficiency at 60.16% (21 points above the state) and 4th-grade English at 79.55% (20 points above the state). However, a concerning pattern emerges at the high school level: 11th-grade English proficiency drops to just 39.85%, a staggering 37.6-point decline from the 8th-grade rate of 77.46%. This drop-off, combined with a chronic absenteeism rate of 16.0% at the high school (well above the district's 11.2%), suggests the transition to high school presents significant challenges that warrant attention.

Demographically, the percentage of students receiving free or reduced lunch rises with grade level, from 38.39% at the elementary school to 46.67% at the high school, yet all three schools still outperform state averages in most subjects despite these challenges. The high school also spends $2,115 more per student ($11,501) than the elementary school ($9,386), yet delivers weaker academic results than the middle school. With a graduation rate of 90.5%—slightly above the district but below the state—the high school's declining rankings and performance gaps represent the district's most pressing issue, even as the elementary and middle schools provide a strong academic foundation for the community.