Attalla City

The Attalla City school district is a small, three-school system in Alabama serving roughly 1,460 students from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade, and it currently ranks in the bottom quarter of the state with an overall 1-star rating.

For parents, the most urgent story is the dramatic decline at Etowah High School. In just two years, the school fell from the 88th percentile in state rankings to the 29th percentile, dropping from a 4-star to a 1-star rating. Its 11th-grade math proficiency sits at just 9.91% (compared to the 27.21% state average), and science proficiency has fallen to 18.02%. Chronic absenteeism at the high school is 16.7%, nearly double the district average, which likely contributes to the academic struggles. In contrast, Attalla Elementary School is the district's bright spot, with the lowest chronic absenteeism rate in the area at just 4.0% (one-third the state average) and 5th-grade English proficiency that actually exceeds the state average. Etowah Middle School presents a mixed picture, with 8th-grade English above the state average but 7th-grade math at a district-low 8.55% proficiency.

Across the district, math is the most significant weakness—every grade level falls below state averages, with gaps as large as 23.8 percentage points in 5th grade. The district also shows troubling year-to-year volatility, including a 25-point drop in 3rd-grade math and a 13-point decline in 11th-grade science. Notably, the high school receives the most per-student funding ($11,236) yet shows the worst performance, suggesting money alone isn't the answer. The elementary school's strong attendance and near-state-average English scores provide a foundation to build on, but the district must urgently investigate the high school's collapse and consider replicating the elementary school's successful strategies district-wide.