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Best Public Schools in Florence, AL

New rankings! Alabama test scores for the 2025-26 school year were just released — SchoolDigger posted updated rankings this week.

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At a glance

Schools

8,465

Students

Districts

5-star school

Top rankedKilby Laboratory School17^th of 686 Alabama elementary schools

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Biggest riser

Weeden Elementary School up 49 spots statewide this year

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Smallest classes

Harlan Elementary School 11.7 students per teacher

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Newly ranked this year

Hibbett Elementary School

SchoolDigger ratings

4★

3★

2★

2 schools without a SchoolDigger rating (too few tested students)

Compare Alabama cities →See the top-ranked Alabama schools →

Summary:

Florence, Alabama is served by 15 schools across the Florence City and Lauderdale County districts, enrolling roughly 8,065 students from elementary through high school in a mix of urban and suburban settings.

For parents, the standout school is Kilby Laboratory School, which ranks in the 98th percentile statewide with 94% math proficiency and just 11% of students on free/reduced lunch—a clear outlier compared to peers like Harlan Elementary School (85% FRL) and Hibbett Elementary School (71% FRL). Forest Hills School offers consistent 4-star performance with strong scores across subjects, while Wilson Elementary School showed remarkable improvement, jumping from the 38th to 67th percentile. At the secondary level, Florence High School leads with 34.8% 11th-grade math proficiency and a 96% graduation rate, far outpacing county rivals like Rogers High School (14.3% math, 96.8% graduation) and Central High School (17% math, 94.4% graduation). Wilson High School posts the highest graduation rate at 98% despite lower test scores.

The most pressing concern is chronic absenteeism, which exceeds 23% at every high school—Rogers High School hits 30%—versus a 12% state average, and this strongly correlates with lower proficiency. Math proficiency also drops sharply from strong elementary levels (60-94% in 3rd grade) to just 14-35% by 11th grade, with Florence Middle School showing a notable dip at 28% in 7th grade. Spending doesn't predict success: Weeden Elementary School spends the most ($14,455/student) but ranks mid-pack, while Wilson High School spends the least ($8,825) yet graduates students at the highest rate. All high schools exceed the state graduation average, and 8th-grade science is a relative strength, but the absenteeism crisis and secondary math decline demand immediate attention.

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				Summative Assessment Mathematics (2026)							Summative Assessment Science (2026)			Summative Assessment English (2026)							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 (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	Summative Assessment Mathematics 3rd Grade	Summative Assessment Mathematics 4th Grade	Summative Assessment Mathematics 5th Grade	Summative Assessment Mathematics 6th Grade	Summative Assessment Mathematics 7th Grade	Summative Assessment Mathematics 8th Grade	Summative Assessment Mathematics 11th Grade	Summative Assessment Science 4th Grade	Summative Assessment Science 8th Grade	Summative Assessment Science 11th Grade	Summative Assessment English 3rd Grade	Summative Assessment English 4th Grade	Summative Assessment English 5th Grade	Summative Assessment English 6th Grade	Summative Assessment English 7th Grade	Summative Assessment English 8th Grade	Summative Assessment English 11th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Florence High School	Public	10-12	1201 Bradshaw Dr	Florence	35630	Lauderdale County	Florence City	No	No	No	No	(256) 768-2200	1,101	63	17.5	49.8%	503 (45.7%)	295 (26.8%)	181 (16.4%)	19 (1.7%)	2 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	101 (9.2%)	72.1	93^rd of 380 public high schools	75.5%		81.9	55^th of 374 public high schools	85.3%	38							34.8			37.1							39.9	$13,080	$938	$12,044
Florence Freshman Center	Public, Alternative	9	1203 Bradshaw Drive	Florence	35630	Lauderdale County	Florence City	No	No	No	No	(256) 768-2400	325	20	16.4	55.1%	148 (45.5%)	84 (25.8%)	45 (13.8%)	5 (1.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	43 (13.2%)								(n/a)																		$9,746	$236	$9,487
Forest Hills School	Public	K-5	101 Stovall Dr	Florence	35633	Lauderdale County	Florence City	No	No	No	Yes	(256) 768-2500	906	63	14.3	46.6%	596 (65.8%)	151 (16.7%)	56 (6.2%)	4 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	99 (10.9%)	78.1	132^nd of 686 public elementary schools	80.8%		80.4	116^th of 680 public elementary schools	82.9%	16	63.2	52.9	63.4	48.1				55.8			79.0	68.8	81.3	71.5				$10,545	$1,336	$9,186
Harlan Elementary School	Public	K-5	2233 McBurney Dr	Florence	35630	Lauderdale County	Florence City	No	No	No	Yes	(256) 768-2700	426	36	11.7	84.7%	120 (28.2%)	196 (46.0%)	19 (4.5%)	1 (0.2%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	88 (20.7%)	45	397^th of 686 public elementary schools	42.1%		45.2	390^th of 680 public elementary schools	42.6%	7	32.4	20.0	44.8	62.2				32.9			52.1	55.3	65.7	57.8				$13,932	$2,610	$11,298
Weeden Elementary School	Public	K-5	400 Baldwin Street	Florence	35630	Lauderdale County	Florence City	No	No	No	Yes	(256) 768-2900	477	32	15.1	84.3%	96 (20.1%)	144 (30.2%)	190 (39.8%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	45 (9.4%)	56.3	302^nd of 686 public elementary schools	56.0%		50.6	351^st of 680 public elementary schools	48.4%	49	62.0	46.3	46.0	50.8				27.9			61.1	55.9	61.3	63.6				$14,455	$2,668	$11,763
Florence Middle School	Public	7-8	648 North Cherry	Florence	35630	Lauderdale County	Florence City	No	No	No	No	(256) 768-3100	663	38	17.2	55.7%	265 (40.0%)	210 (31.7%)	102 (15.4%)	7 (1.1%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	78 (11.8%)	56.3	180^th of 443 public middle schools	59.4%		60.6	148^th of 439 public middle schools	66.3%	32					28.3	26.7			52.9						55.7	52.2		$12,862	$962	$11,877
Florence Learning Center	Public	6-12	610 W College St	Florence	35630	Lauderdale County	Florence City	No	No	No	No	(256) 768-3022																			(n/a)
Hibbett Elementary School	Public	K-6	1601 Appleby Blvd	Florence	35630	Lauderdale County	Florence City	No	No	No	Yes	(256) 768-2800	489	37	13.3	70.8%	184 (37.6%)	157 (32.1%)	79 (16.2%)	8 (1.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	61 (12.5%)	32.5	475^th of 686 public elementary schools	30.8%					(n/a)	37.5	25.9	22.2	47.6				17.9			53.7	35.7	52.8	57.1				$9,663	$1,495	$8,145
Kilby Laboratory School	Public	PK, KG-6	611 N Pine St	Florence	35632	Lauderdale County	Florence City	No	No	No	No	(256) 765-4303	187			11.2%	141 (75.4%)	22 (11.8%)	4 (2.1%)	6 (3.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (7.5%)	95.6	17^th of 686 public elementary schools	97.5%		95.3	12^th of 680 public elementary schools	98.2%	5	94.4	80.0	84.2	54.6				90.0			94.4	95.0	89.5	90.9
Central High School	Public	7-12	3000 County Road 200	Florence	35633	Lauderdale County	Lauderdale County	No	No	No	Yes	(256) 764-2903	596	38	15.6	45.1%	537 (90.1%)	23 (3.9%)	25 (4.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	10 (1.7%)	38.1	236^th of 380 public high schools	37.9%		54	160^th of 374 public high schools	57.2%	76					16.7	50.0	17.0		59.8	22.0					49.0	68.3	29.4	$9,997	$1,140	$8,851
Rogers High School	Public	7-12	300 Rogers Ln	Florence	35634	Lauderdale County	Lauderdale County	No	No	No	Yes	(256) 757-3106	510	32	15.9	36.5%	477 (93.5%)	6 (1.2%)	7 (1.4%)	3 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (3.3%)	35.3	251^st of 380 public high schools	33.9%		50.2	178^th of 374 public high schools	52.4%	73					15.9	27.1	14.3		52.9	25.3					55.1	65.7	25.6	$9,430	$1,076	$8,347
Underwood Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	4725 Highway 157	Florence	35633	Lauderdale County	Lauderdale County	No	No	No	Yes	(256) 764-8939	343	22	15.7	46.9%	310 (90.4%)	13 (3.8%)	2 (0.6%)	1 (0.3%)	5 (1.5%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (3.5%)	67.3	219^th of 686 public elementary schools	68.1%		66.1	223^rd of 680 public elementary schools	67.2%	4	70.0	61.5	46.7	18.2				64.1			84.0	61.5	73.3	54.6				$10,792	$1,963	$8,818
Wilson High School	Public	7-12	7601 Highway 17	Florence	35634	Lauderdale County	Lauderdale County	No	No	No	Yes	(256) 764-8470	585	37	15.7	48.2%	555 (94.9%)	8 (1.4%)	5 (0.9%)	5 (0.9%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (1.7%)	36.2	244^th of 380 public high schools	35.8%		67	105^th of 374 public high schools	71.9%	139					30.3	18.2	18.8		44.3	18.8					56.1	50.0	27.9	$8,825	$1,150	$7,668
Central Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	3000 County Road 200	Florence	35633	Lauderdale County	Lauderdale County	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(256) 764-2903	713	41	17.2	43.8%	638 (89.5%)	23 (3.2%)	24 (3.4%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	25 (3.5%)	51.6	346^th of 686 public elementary schools	49.6%		52	341^st of 680 public elementary schools	49.9%	5	52.6	38.9	37.6	24.5				43.3			62.3	57.8	72.5	58.8
Rogers Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	300 Rogers Lane	Florence	35634	Lauderdale County	Lauderdale County	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(256) 757-3106	592	30	19.7	47.3%	551 (93.1%)	3 (0.5%)	19 (3.2%)	3 (0.5%)	3 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (2.2%)	46	389^th of 686 public elementary schools	43.3%		52.1	339^th of 680 public elementary schools	50.1%	50	40.0	27.7	23.5	39.1				40.4			61.3	63.8	71.0	53.6
Wilson Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	7601 Highway 17	Florence	35634	Lauderdale County	Lauderdale County	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(256) 764-8470	552	31	18.0	49.8%	508 (92.0%)	13 (2.4%)	13 (2.4%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (2.9%)	66.1	229^th of 686 public elementary schools	66.6%		63.4	243^rd of 680 public elementary schools	64.3%	14	45.8	64.4	42.9	33.3				67.8			61.0	69.5	75.7	62.7

Cities Near Florence

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Sheffield	3.61 mi	4	259^th
Muscle Shoals	4.8 mi	7	18^th
Tuscumbia	5.96 mi	9	104^th
Killen	7.93 mi	3	34^th
Leighton	10.79 mi	3	192^nd

See the top AL Alabama cities

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.