Choctaw County

The Choctaw County school district in rural Alabama serves approximately 1,025 students across four schools: two elementary schools and two high schools serving grades 7-12, all facing significant academic challenges with a district-wide 1-star rating.

For parents, the most important takeaway is that Southern Choctaw Elementary School is the clear standout in this district. It earned the district's only 2-star rating and outperforms Choctaw County Elementary by dramatic margins despite serving similar demographics. For example, in 4th grade math, Southern Choctaw Elementary's proficiency rate (37.5%) is more than four times higher than Choctaw County Elementary's (8.5%), and in 4th grade science the gap is even wider (59.4% vs. 12.8%). Southern Choctaw Elementary also has the lowest chronic absenteeism rate in the district at 10.9%, below the state average. Meanwhile, Southern Choctaw High School is the most improved school, jumping from the 10th to 33rd percentile in rankings, with a strong 93.1% graduation rate that exceeds the state average. In contrast, Choctaw County High School has fallen to the 8th percentile and shows alarming 11th grade proficiency rates of just 6.5% in English and 6.1% in math.

Across the district, math proficiency is a systemic crisis, particularly in the middle school transition. At Choctaw County Elementary, only 3.2% of 6th graders are proficient in math, and this drops to 0.0% by 7th grade at Choctaw County High School. English proficiency is consistently higher than math across all schools, suggesting a specific instructional weakness in mathematics rather than a general academic deficit. The Southern Choctaw feeder pattern is clearly implementing effective strategies worth studying, as both its schools are trending upward while the Choctaw County schools are stagnant or declining. Parents should consider these significant performance differences when choosing between the two feeder patterns in this district.