Summary:
The Cherokee County school district in Alabama serves approximately 3,860 students across 7 schools, including one elementary, one middle, one traditional high school, and four PK-12 schools that serve their local rural communities.
For parents, the standout school is Centre Middle School, which earns a 4-star rating and ranks in the 71st percentile statewide—far ahead of the district's overall 2-star rating. Its 8th grade science proficiency (68.97%) and strong year-over-year improvement make it the clear academic leader. Cedar Bluff High School also shines with a perfect 100% graduation rate, while Spring Garden High School (97.4%) and Gaylesville High School (96.8%) also exceed the state average. Every school in the district beats the state graduation rate of 91.5%, a genuine strength. However, Cherokee County High School shows dramatic ranking swings (from the 86th to 51st percentile in consecutive years), suggesting cohort volatility rather than a stable trend.
The district's biggest challenges are math proficiency and chronic absenteeism. Math scores decline sharply from elementary to high school—Gaylesville High School posts just 8% proficiency in 11th grade math versus the state's 27.21%, and Sand Rock High School has only 16% proficiency in 8th grade math. Chronic absenteeism runs 18.6% district-wide, with Gaylesville (23.0%) and Spring Garden (22.0%) worst affected—likely dragging down achievement. On the positive side, elementary English is a genuine strength (Cedar Bluff hits 89.29% in 3rd grade), and science instruction excels across multiple schools. Notably, Gaylesville spends the most per student ($12,079) yet posts the lowest scores, while Centre Middle spends the least ($8,835) and performs best—suggesting instructional quality matters more than funding alone.
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