Elementary Schools in Chilton County

Chilton County, Alabama is home to two elementary schools—Clanton Elementary School and Jemison Elementary School—both serving grades PK-3 within the Chilton County school district, which currently holds a 2-star rating and ranks in the 31st percentile statewide.

For parents comparing the two schools, Clanton Elementary is the stronger academic performer. In the most recent testing, Clanton posted 44.02% proficiency in math and 60.33% in English, both above the district averages of 39.23% and 60.88%, respectively. However, Clanton saw a dramatic 18.61-point drop in math proficiency from the prior year—a decline worth investigating. In contrast, Jemison Elementary trails significantly, with just 31.32% math proficiency and 41.76% English proficiency, placing it 13.57 and 22.99 points below state averages. Jemison did improve in math by 8.24 points year-over-year, but its English scores fell by 9.69 points. The English achievement gap between the two schools is a striking 18.57 percentage points.

Beyond test scores, there are notable differences in resources and demographics. Jemison has a higher free/reduced lunch rate (65.56% vs. 52.65% at Clanton) and slightly larger class sizes (15.6:1 vs. 14.2:1), yet it spends $981 more per student—suggesting that funding alone isn't driving outcomes. Both schools excel in attendance, with chronic absenteeism rates of 6.1% (Clanton) and 8.2% (Jemison), well below the state's 12.0%. Jemison's historical ranking has also slipped from a 4-star rating in 2014-2015 to a 3-star rating by 2016-2017. For parents, Clanton offers stronger academics and better student-teacher ratios, while Jemison shows promise in math improvement but needs targeted literacy support to close the significant English gap.