High Schools in Pell City

Pell City is home to a single public high school, Pell City High School, which serves grades 9 through 12 and enrolls approximately 1,193 students within the Pell City district—a district ranked in the top 27% of Alabama (73rd percentile, earning 4 stars).

For parents, the most encouraging news is the school’s dramatic academic momentum. Between the 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 school years, proficiency rates jumped significantly in every subject: math rose from 19.78% to 27.40%, English from 17.03% to 27.18%, and science nearly doubled from 22.38% to 40.89%. This surge lifted the school’s state ranking from the 43rd percentile to the 67th percentile in just one year. Science is now a clear strength, with proficiency 4.7 points above the state average, while math is essentially at the state average. English remains the one weak spot, trailing the state by 6.55 points, though the improvement is substantial. The graduation rate of 89.7% is slightly below the state’s 91.5%, and chronic absenteeism (13.5%) is higher than both the district (9.5%) and state (12.0%)—a concern worth monitoring.

The school serves a majority low-income population, with 55.24% of students receiving free or reduced lunch, yet it has achieved a top-quartile district ranking, suggesting effective use of resources. The student-teacher ratio is a reasonable 16.8:1, and per-student spending is $9,837 (though this figure is from 2018-2019). Notably, the school’s strong ranking appears to reflect more than just test scores, as its proficiency rates are near or below state averages in most subjects—likely incorporating growth or other metrics. The most urgent priorities are reducing chronic absenteeism and closing the English proficiency gap, while the impressive gains in science and math provide a strong foundation to build upon.