Barbour County

Barbour County Schools is a small, rural Alabama district of just 3 schools serving roughly 658 students in grades PK-12, with two elementary campuses and one combined middle/high school. The district ranks in the bottom 12% of Alabama schools and carries a 1-star rating, with all campuses serving predominantly low-income families.

If you're looking at school options, the standout is Barbour County Intermediate School (grades 2-6), which shows the most academic momentum. Its 4th grade cohort made remarkable year-over-year gains—math proficiency jumped from 2.27% to 17.14%, and English rose to 45.71%, the district's best subject score. This school also posts the highest science proficiency (25.71% in 4th grade) despite having the lowest per-student spending ($10,951). Meanwhile, Barbour County High School (grades 7-12) is the graduation success story, maintaining an 84% graduation rate despite severe academic struggles. It also improved its 8th grade English proficiency from 33.33% to 47.73% year-over-year. Barbour County Primary School (PK-1) has no test data but spends the most per student ($14,908) and has the lowest poverty rate (63.43%).

The biggest red flag across all three schools is chronic absenteeism, which ranges from 42.7% to 53.3%—over four times the state average of 12%. This likely drives the wide proficiency gaps: English consistently beats math by 28-41 points, and 11th grade scores plummet (math drops to 2.33%, science to 7.14%). The district also lacks a dedicated middle school, housing 7th and 8th graders with high schoolers. While funding is comparable to other districts, outcomes remain 20-40 points below state averages, suggesting attendance and poverty—not money—are the core challenges. Still, the improving rankings and strong graduation rate offer hope that when students show up, they can make progress.