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Best Public Schools in Gadsden, AL

At a glance

Schools

5,826

Students

Districts

5-star school

Top rankedEura Brown Elementary School27^th of 686 Alabama elementary schools

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Biggest riser

Donehoo Elementary School up 112 spots statewide this year

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Smallest classes

Mitchell Elementary School 14.8 students per teacher

SchoolDigger ratings

3★

2★

1★

0★

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

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

Summary:

The city of Gadsden, Alabama, is served by 15 schools across two districts—Gadsden City and Etowah County—covering elementary through high school grades and enrolling roughly 5,400 students in a mix of urban and surrounding county areas.

For parents, the standout choice is Eura Brown Elementary School, which ranks in the 96th percentile statewide with near-perfect English proficiency and 84.78% math proficiency—far above the district average of 33.56%. It also has the lowest chronic absenteeism (3.3%) and the lowest poverty rate (32.65% free/reduced lunch). Mitchell Elementary School is another strong choice, achieving 72nd percentile results despite a 59% poverty rate, with 5th grade English proficiency at 84.38%. At the middle school level, Gadsden Middle School is the most improved, jumping to the 53rd percentile with notable gains in 7th grade math (40.43% proficiency). On the other end, Adams Elementary School, Floyd Elementary School, and Thompson Elementary School all rank in the bottom 10% statewide, with Thompson posting a 27.8% chronic absenteeism rate—more than double the state average.

Overall, Gadsden City schools earn only 2 stars (35th percentile), while Etowah County schools earn 3 stars (57th percentile), despite serving similar demographics. Poverty is the strongest predictor of performance—schools with lower free/reduced lunch rates consistently outperform those with higher rates. Notably, higher spending doesn't guarantee results: Litchfield Middle School spends the most per student ($14,976) yet ranks in the 16th percentile, while Mitchell Elementary spends far less and achieves top-quartile results. English proficiency is a district-wide strength, but math lags significantly. Also concerning is Gaston High School's 100% graduation rate despite bottom-20% academic rankings, suggesting graduates may not be fully prepared. Smaller elementary schools tend to perform better, and chronic absenteeism at Thompson and Gadsden City High School (20.7%) signals clear intervention opportunities.

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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 (2023)
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 (2025)	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
Gaston High School	Public	7-12	4550 US Highway 411	Gadsden	35901	Etowah County	Etowah County	No	No	No	Yes	(256) 547-8828	380	20	19.0	63.9%	304 (80.0%)	20 (5.3%)	20 (5.3%)	2 (0.5%)	1 (0.3%)	2 (0.5%)	31 (8.2%)	21.5	307^th of 386 public high schools	20.5%		27.3	258^th of 374 public high schools	31.0%	49					12.5	10.8	5.7		40.0	24.5					47.9	47.7	13.5	$13,313	$3,464	$9,805
Highland Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	3156 Tabor Rd	Gadsden	35904	Etowah County	Etowah County	No	No	No	Yes	(256) 546-7409	216	12	18.0	53.7%	185 (85.6%)	7 (3.2%)	6 (2.8%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (7.9%)	27.3	506^th of 686 public elementary schools	26.2%		40.7	419^th of 680 public elementary schools	38.4%	87	27.8	0.0	16.1	15.4				45.5			61.1	40.9	54.8	53.9				$13,257	$4,438	$8,820
Gaston Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	4550 US Highway 411	Gadsden	35901	Etowah County	Etowah County	No	No	No	Yes	(256) 622-1073	290	18	15.9	67.6%	246 (84.8%)	14 (4.8%)	7 (2.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.0%)	20 (6.9%)	54.4	324^th of 686 public elementary schools	52.8%		54.5	320^th of 680 public elementary schools	52.9%	4	74.2	29.4	20.9	31.3				55.9			77.4	44.1	72.1	62.5				$8,917	$1,763	$7,155
Donehoo Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1109 E Broad St	Gadsden	35903	Etowah County	Gadsden City	No	No	No	Yes	(256) 546-3604	225	12	18.3	73.3%	20 (8.9%)	158 (70.2%)	40 (17.8%)	2 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (2.2%)	65.1	237^th of 686 public elementary schools	65.5%		50.7	349^th of 680 public elementary schools	48.7%	112	60.0	50.0	48.5					39.3			85.7	60.7	69.7					$13,961	$4,688	$9,263
Litchfield Middle School	Public	6-8	1109 Hoke St	Gadsden	35903	Etowah County	Gadsden City	No	No	No	Yes	(256) 492-6793	252	16	16.2	80.2%	20 (7.9%)	151 (59.9%)	78 (31.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.2%)	17.5	376^th of 449 public middle schools	16.3%		13.4	394^th of 439 public middle schools	10.3%	18				12.0	8.2	10.1			28.1					33.0	32.9	41.6		$14,439	$3,631	$10,797
Gadsden Middle School	Public	6-8	612 Tracy St	Gadsden	35901	Etowah County	Gadsden City	No	No	No	No	(256) 547-6341	438	24	18.5	63.9%	123 (28.1%)	215 (49.1%)	85 (19.4%)	5 (1.1%)	5 (1.1%)	1 (0.2%)	4 (0.9%)	51.7	210^th of 449 public middle schools	53.2%		55.1	179^th of 439 public middle schools	59.2%	31				24.3	40.4	21.6			40.5					46.5	64.8	56.0		$10,061	$2,151	$7,899
Eura Brown Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1231 Alcott Rd	Gadsden	35901	Etowah County	Gadsden City	No	No	No	No	(256) 546-0011	340	21	16.0	32.6%	238 (70.0%)	59 (17.4%)	18 (5.3%)	8 (2.4%)	2 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (4.4%)	93.6	27^th of 686 public elementary schools	96.1%		93	31^st of 680 public elementary schools	95.4%	4	84.8	69.4	70.0					72.6			100.0	90.2	88.0					$12,993	$2,351	$10,631
Sansom Middle School	Public	6-8	2210 W Meighan Blvd	Gadsden	35904	Etowah County	Gadsden City	No	No	No	Yes	(256) 546-4992	339	20	16.6	77.6%	128 (37.8%)	107 (31.6%)	86 (25.4%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (5.0%)	46.4	237^th of 449 public middle schools	47.2%		35	297^th of 439 public middle schools	32.3%	60				30.3	13.5	16.7			53.6					55.1	54.2	54.8		$10,613	$3,153	$7,448
Mitchell Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1501 Noccalula Rd	Gadsden	35901	Etowah County	Gadsden City	No	No	No	No	(256) 546-2711	262	18	14.8	59.2%	163 (62.2%)	50 (19.1%)	26 (9.9%)	3 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (7.6%)	70.9	190^th of 686 public elementary schools	72.3%		71.4	184^th of 680 public elementary schools	72.9%	6	47.7	58.5	37.5					58.5			75.0	70.7	84.4					$13,575	$3,010	$10,554
W E Striplin Elementary School	Public	K-5	600 Cleveland Ave	Gadsden	35901	Etowah County	Gadsden City	No	No	No	Yes	(256) 546-8616	400	20	19.7	84.8%	37 (9.3%)	222 (55.5%)	122 (30.5%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (3.8%)	32.5	475^th of 686 public elementary schools	30.8%		21.4	532^nd of 680 public elementary schools	21.8%	57	41.5	41.5	15.5					40.0			45.1	40.0	63.2					$11,380	$3,936	$7,434
Walnut Park Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	3200 Walnut St	Gadsden	35904	Etowah County	Gadsden City	No	No	No	Yes	(256) 546-4665	218	13	16.4	78.9%	116 (53.2%)	55 (25.2%)	41 (18.8%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.8%)	44.2	403^rd of 686 public elementary schools	41.3%		39.5	426^th of 680 public elementary schools	37.4%	23	11.6	44.0	26.9					56.0			41.9	72.0	69.2					$16,688	$6,101	$10,576
C I T Y Program	Public	6-12	435 E Chestnut	Gadsden	35903	Etowah County	Gadsden City	No	No	No	No	(256) 543-2489																			(n/a)
Floyd Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	601 Black Creek Rd	Gadsden	35904	Etowah County	Gadsden City	No	No	No	Yes	(256) 546-0836	384	16	23.8	82.0%	71 (18.5%)	164 (42.7%)	129 (33.6%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (2.1%)	1 (0.3%)	11 (2.9%)	9.5	644^th of 686 public elementary schools	6.1%		10.7	631^st of 680 public elementary schools	7.2%	13	20.3	9.8	7.8					21.6			44.9	23.5	40.6					$11,621	$3,814	$7,798
Downtown Educational Center	Public	6-12	220 Locust Street	Gadsden	35901	Etowah County	Gadsden City	No	No	No	No	(256) 547-5446																			(n/a)
Therapeutic Academic Program	Public	1-5	201 College St	Gadsden	35901	Etowah County	Gadsden City	No	No	No	No	(256) 549-2961																			(n/a)
Adams Elementary School	Public	K-5	919 Raley St	Gadsden	35903	Etowah County	Gadsden City	No	No	No	Yes	(256) 492-4952	433	23	18.6	90.8%	61 (14.1%)	196 (45.3%)	160 (37.0%)	2 (0.5%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (2.8%)	11.7	627^th of 686 public elementary schools	8.6%		9.7	641^st of 680 public elementary schools	5.7%	14	11.0	14.9	21.4					28.4			33.7	34.3	39.3					$16,038	$7,445	$8,582
Thompson Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	236 Goldenrod Ave	Gadsden	35901	Etowah County	Gadsden City	No	No	No	Yes	(256) 546-7011	288	14	20.2	81.3%	50 (17.4%)	179 (62.2%)	40 (13.9%)	2 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.7%)	15 (5.2%)	11.8	626^th of 686 public elementary schools	8.7%		16.5	572^nd of 680 public elementary schools	15.9%	54	14.0	4.9	20.0					22.0			34.9	31.7	53.3					$15,442	$5,426	$10,006
Gadsden City High School	Public	9-12	1917 Black Creek Parkway	Gadsden	35904	Etowah County	Gadsden City	No	No	No	No	(256) 543-3614	1,361	79	17.2	68.9%	407 (29.9%)	616 (45.3%)	301 (22.1%)	14 (1.0%)	6 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (1.2%)	37.9	243^rd of 386 public high schools	37.0%		33.3	239^th of 374 public high schools	36.1%	4							18.0			27.9							22.1	$14,210	$2,863	$11,323

Cities Near Gadsden

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Glencoe	2.78 mi	3	95^th
Hokes Bluff	4.3 mi	3	116^th
Southside	7.7 mi	2	53^rd
Rainbow City	7.95 mi	2	51^st
Attalla	9.2 mi	7	208^th

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.