Summary:
Elba High School is the sole public high school in the Elba City district, serving grades 7 through 12 with a small enrollment of 224 students in a tight-knit community setting.
Because there is only one school, its performance is the district's performance. The most encouraging news is the school's clear upward trajectory: its state ranking improved from the bottom 7% (350th out of 378) in 2023-2024 to the top 27% (277th out of 380) in 2025-2026, earning it a 1-star rating. However, this improvement masks a significant internal divide. While 8th-grade students perform near state averages in English (53.66% proficient vs. 58.53% statewide) and science (46.34% vs. 54.12%), 11th-grade scores collapse dramatically—English proficiency plummets to just 11.43% (vs. 33.73% statewide) and science drops to 27.03%. Math proficiency is low across all grades, ranging from 9.76% to 13.51%, well below state averages. The graduation rate stands at 89.1%, slightly under the state's 91.5%.
The biggest red flag is chronic absenteeism: 26.1% of students are chronically absent, more than double the state average of 12.0%. This likely explains the academic decline from middle to high school grades. The school does invest heavily in its students, with a favorable 13.1:1 student-teacher ratio and per-pupil spending of $12,527. Additionally, 68.75% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch, indicating a high-poverty population. For parents, the takeaway is that Elba High School is improving and shows strong foundational teaching in the middle grades, but the upper grades face serious challenges with engagement and attendance that must be addressed to translate the school's resources into better outcomes for older students.
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