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Best Elementary Schools in Madison, AL

At a glance

Schools

6,121

Students

Districts

5-star schools

Top rankedRainbow Elementary School54^th of 686 Alabama elementary schools

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Biggest riser

MidTown Elementary School up 15 spots statewide this year

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Smallest classes

Columbia Elementary School 14.1 students per teacher

SchoolDigger ratings

5★

4★

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

Summary:

Madison, Alabama is home to 8 elementary schools serving grades K-5 (with two offering Pre-K), all part of either the top-ranked Madison City district (11th in the state, 5-star rating) or the solid Madison County district (34th, 4-star rating), serving a relatively affluent community where no school exceeds one-third of students qualifying for free/reduced lunch.

For parents, the standout academic performer is Heritage Elementary School, which ranks 21st in Alabama and shows remarkable consistency—it leads in 4th-grade math (83.65% proficiency) and 5th-grade English (90.96%), while maintaining the second-lowest chronic absenteeism (4.3%). Meanwhile, Rainbow Elementary School is the rising star, improving its state rank from 66th to 54th over three years, with 3rd-grade math surging to 83.33%—16 points above the district average. On the other end, Horizon Elementary School has suffered a dramatic decline, dropping from 44th to 110th in state rankings, with 3rd-grade math collapsing from 63.89% to 45% proficiency, despite having the lowest chronic absenteeism (4.1%). Legacy Elementary School is a notable outlier—it belongs to the lower-ranked Madison County district yet outperforms its district by 19 points in 3rd-grade math and 18 points in 4th-grade English, all while spending the least per student ($8,196).

Across the board, English proficiency is a clear strength—every school exceeds state averages at every grade level. However, 5th-grade math is the district's weak point, with only Madison Elementary School (74%) and Columbia Elementary School (68.06%) exceeding the district average of 61.79%. MidTown Elementary School is the largest (1,097 students) and spends the most per student ($11,036) but doesn't top the academic charts, while Mill Creek Elementary School has the lowest economic need (24.56% free/reduced lunch) and solid mid-range scores. With all seven Madison City schools ranking in the top 110 of 686 Alabama elementary schools, this is an elite system—but parents should watch Horizon's decline and the district-wide 5th-grade math gap as areas needing 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 (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 Science 4th Grade	Summative Assessment English 3rd Grade	Summative Assessment English 4th Grade	Summative Assessment English 5th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Horizon Elementary School	Public	K-5	7855 Old Madison Pike	Madison	35758	Madison County	Madison City	No	No	No	Yes	(256) 464-3614	567	39	14.7	33.3%	297 (52.4%)	130 (22.9%)	51 (9.0%)	32 (5.6%)	2 (0.4%)	1 (0.2%)	54 (9.5%)	81	110^th of 686 public elementary schools	84.0%		88.8	58^th of 680 public elementary schools	91.5%	52	45.0	62.1	46.5	71.0	87.9	80.7	92.0	$10,400	$1,234	$9,137
Madison Elementary School	Public	K-5	17 College St	Madison	35758	Madison County	Madison City	No	No	No	Yes	(256) 772-9255	603	39	15.4	27.4%	305 (50.6%)	114 (18.9%)	51 (8.5%)	64 (10.6%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	68 (11.3%)	87.3	69^th of 686 public elementary schools	89.9%		87.2	71^st of 680 public elementary schools	89.6%	2	74.6	62.8	74.0	67.3	87.0	69.9	86.9	$11,034	$1,173	$9,832
MidTown Elementary School	Public	K-5	140 Coefer Boulevard	Madison	35758	Madison County	Madison City	No	No	No	Yes	(256) 837-1189	1,097	63	17.4	28.9%	556 (50.7%)	276 (25.2%)	97 (8.8%)	76 (6.9%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	90 (8.2%)	88.4	64^th of 686 public elementary schools	90.7%		85.6	79^th of 680 public elementary schools	88.4%	15	62.0	70.3	65.2	75.4	81.6	80.9	89.0	$11,036	$1,104	$9,903
Heritage Elementary School	Public	K-5	11775 County Line Rd	Madison	35758	Madison County	Madison City	No	No	No	No	(256) 772-2075	869	51	17.0	25.5%	454 (52.2%)	165 (19.0%)	72 (8.3%)	109 (12.5%)	3 (0.3%)	4 (0.5%)	62 (7.1%)	89	60^th of 686 public elementary schools	91.3%		94.1	21^st of 680 public elementary schools	96.9%	39	60.7	69.1	64.3	80.0	81.2	83.6	91.1	$9,498	$1,114	$8,355
Rainbow Elementary School	Public	K-5	50 Nance Rd	Madison	35758	Madison County	Madison City	No	No	No	No	(256) 824-8106	725	47	15.4	26.2%	432 (59.6%)	119 (16.4%)	73 (10.1%)	46 (6.3%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	53 (7.3%)	89.6	54^th of 686 public elementary schools	92.1%		87.8	65^th of 680 public elementary schools	90.4%	11	83.3	68.6	58.0	72.3	91.2	77.2	86.2	$10,881	$1,430	$9,423
Columbia Elementary School	Public	K-5	667 Balch Road	Madison	35758	Madison County	Madison City	No	No	No	Yes	(256) 430-2751	701	50	14.1	25.1%	383 (54.6%)	114 (16.3%)	68 (9.7%)	73 (10.4%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	62 (8.8%)	87	72^nd of 686 public elementary schools	89.5%		86	78^th of 680 public elementary schools	88.5%	6	71.7	63.9	68.1	69.7	87.3	73.6	81.8	$9,802	$675	$9,099
Mill Creek Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	847 Mill Road	Madison	35758	Madison County	Madison City	No	No	No	Yes	(256) 774-4690	965	59	16.2	24.6%	522 (54.1%)	171 (17.7%)	97 (10.1%)	90 (9.3%)	1 (0.1%)	3 (0.3%)	81 (8.4%)	87.2	70^th of 686 public elementary schools	89.8%		87.9	64^th of 680 public elementary schools	90.6%	6	75.0	63.4	55.6	75.8	87.5	77.0	82.4	$9,909	$1,191	$8,688
Legacy Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	165 Pine Grove Road	Madison	35757	Madison County	Madison County	No	No	No	No	(256) 851-4630	594	34	17.4	29.3%	319 (53.7%)	145 (24.4%)	58 (9.8%)	9 (1.5%)	8 (1.3%)	5 (0.8%)	50 (8.4%)	86.2	79^th of 686 public elementary schools	88.5%		85.1	84^th of 680 public elementary schools	87.6%	5	73.4	68.0	47.7	73.1	81.7	83.3	85.1	$8,196	$585	$7,573

Cities Near Madison

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Decatur	4.59 mi	25	166^th
Huntsville	6.33 mi	52	175^th
Hartselle	9.29 mi	7	10^th
Somerville	10.28 mi	4	132^nd
Laceys Spring	12.82 mi	1	233^rd

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.