Bullock County

The Bullock County school district in Alabama serves approximately 1,327 students across three schools—Union Springs Elementary School (K-4), South Highlands Middle School (5-8), and Bullock County High School (9-12)—and ranks in the bottom 7% of Alabama districts, with all three schools carrying a 0-star rating.

Among the three, Union Springs Elementary is the clear standout. Its 3rd graders actually beat the state average in English (67% vs. 65%) and nearly match it in math (40% vs. 45%), and the school jumped from the 5th to the 20th percentile in state rankings over the past year. However, this success does not carry forward: by 4th grade, English proficiency plunges by 41 points, and by 7th grade at South Highlands Middle School, only 1.1% of students are proficient in math—a near-total collapse from the 39.8% seen in 3rd grade. Bullock County High School shows the most alarming trend: just 2% of 11th graders are proficient in math (vs. 27% statewide), and its ranking fell from the 26th to the 9th percentile in one year.

Chronic absenteeism is a crisis multiplier across the district, with the high school at 55.5% (4.6x the state average) and the middle school at 28%. The high school also has a 76.2% graduation rate versus 91.5% statewide. All three schools have over 83% of students facing economic disadvantage, and per-student spending varies widely—from $7,701 at the middle school to $12,016 at the high school—yet higher spending does not correlate with better outcomes. The district's only bright spot is Union Springs Elementary, whose improvement suggests that early intervention and better attendance (23.8% absenteeism) could offer a roadmap for the middle and high schools to follow.