Best Public Schools in Moody, AL

Moody, Alabama, is served by four public schools in the St Clair County district, together spanning grades PK-12 with a total enrollment of 2,493 students. Moody High School stands out as the strongest overall performer, earning a 4-star rating for three straight years, climbing to 67th among Alabama high schools, and posting 11th-grade proficiency above both district and state in math, science, and English. Moody Elementary School shines in early literacy, with 82.5% of 3rd graders proficient in English—nearly 18 points above the state average—and also has the district's lowest student-teacher ratio (18.2) and highest per-student spending ($9,570). Meanwhile, Moody Junior High School is the area of concern, with a 2-star rating and slipping rankings, as only about 1 in 5 students in 7th and 8th grade are proficient in math.

Across the district, math proficiency follows a troubling downward path, dropping from 48.5% in 3rd grade to 36.4% in 4th grade, then rebounding slightly in 5th and 6th grades before falling to 19.6% in 7th and 19.8% in 8th grade. Moody Intermediate School has the largest class sizes in the district at 23.8 students per teacher, and its 4th-grade math proficiency (36.4%) trails both state and district averages. Chronic absenteeism is remarkably low at every school, ranging from 6.3% at the high school to 9.5% at the junior high, all below the district rate of 9.9% and state rate of 12.0%. Free/reduced lunch eligibility varies from 36.3% at Moody High to 46.8% at Moody Intermediate, producing a district-wide weighted average of about 41.3%.

One positive trend is that Moody High School outperforms state averages despite serving older students, with a 92.5% graduation rate and strong science scores (46.1% proficiency, nearly 10 points above the state). Science is a relative strength in the upper grades, as 8th-grade science at the junior high is essentially at state level. However, resource allocation is uneven: Moody Elementary receives the most funding and has the smallest classes, while Moody Junior High receives the least funding and posts the weakest math scores. Although all four schools share the same 3-star district rating, their individual outcomes vary widely—from a high-performing 4-star high school to a struggling 2-star junior high—showing why parents should look beyond district-level metrics when choosing a school.