Best Public Schools in Louisville, AL

Louisville, Alabama, is served by a single school, Barbour County Intermediate School, which enrolls 227 students in grades 2 through 6 within the Barbour County district.

For parents, the most important takeaway is that this school is facing significant challenges, particularly in academics and attendance. Proficiency rates in math are critically low, with only about 1 in 10 fifth graders meeting state standards, compared to roughly 4 in 10 statewide. English scores are stronger but still trail the state average by 20 to 40 percentage points; for example, 4th-grade English proficiency is 45.71% versus a state average near 60%. Science proficiency in 4th grade is also about half the state rate. A major red flag is chronic absenteeism: 42.7% of students miss enough school to be considered chronically absent, a rate more than three times the state average of 12%. This attendance crisis is almost certainly a key driver of the low test scores. The school also serves a high-poverty population, with nearly 89% of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch, and the district itself ranks in the bottom 12% of Alabama districts.

There are a few small positives. The school's state ranking has improved slightly over the past three years, moving from the 5th to the 10th percentile. English Language Arts is a relative strength compared to math, offering a potential foundation to build on. However, test scores are volatile from year to year—3rd-grade math dropped from 30.3% to 13.04% proficiency in one year—suggesting instability in instruction or student mobility. With a student-teacher ratio of 18.9 and per-student spending of $10,951, the school has resources, but they may not be enough to overcome the combined barriers of poverty and severe absenteeism. In short, this is a school in need of urgent, comprehensive intervention focused on attendance and academic support.