Middle Schools in Montgomery County

The nine middle schools in Montgomery County, Alabama, serve grades 6-8 and enroll roughly 5,490 students, but they are split into two very distinct tiers of academic performance.

At the top, Baldwin Art And Academics Magnet is the clear standout, ranking 28th in the state (94th percentile) with proficiency rates that are often three to five times higher than the district average. It also has the lowest chronic absenteeism rate (6.4%) and the lowest free/reduced lunch percentage (29.08%). Floyd Middle School is the other bright spot, ranking 51st (88th percentile) despite having a much higher poverty rate (48.38% free/reduced lunch) than Baldwin—proving that high poverty does not have to mean low performance. The remaining seven schools all rank in the bottom 28% of the state, with Bellingrath Middle School (440th) and Southlawn Middle School (438th) at the very bottom. Chronic absenteeism is a major differentiator: the top two schools have rates below 10.2%, while the bottom seven all exceed 13%, and Bellingrath's rate is a staggering 47.4%—nearly half its students are chronically absent.

Math proficiency is critically low across most schools, with several posting single-digit or even 0% proficiency rates in certain grades (e.g., Southlawn at 0% in 6th grade math). Interestingly, per-student spending does not correlate with outcomes—Bellingrath spends the most ($11,220 per student) yet ranks 440th, while Floyd spends the second-least ($7,969) and ranks 51st. This suggests that simply adding funds is not the answer; addressing attendance, family engagement, and foundational math skills may be more impactful. For parents, the choice is stark: Baldwin and Floyd offer strong academics and manageable absenteeism, while the other seven schools face deep, entrenched challenges that will require significant intervention to overcome.