Summary:
The four middle schools in the Tuscaloosa City district serve grades 6-8 and present one of the most dramatic performance divides in Alabama, ranging from a top-5 statewide school to one of the lowest-ranked schools in the state.
For parents, the standout choice is clearly Tuscaloosa Magnet School Middle, which ranks 5th out of 443 Alabama middle schools (99th percentile, 5 stars). This small school of 173 students posts extraordinary results—80% of 6th graders are proficient in math versus the state average of 35%, and 8th grade English proficiency hits 94.9%. Its chronic absenteeism rate of just 1.7% is remarkably low. The next best option is Northridge Middle School, ranking 73rd (84th percentile, 4 stars) with 775 students. Northridge has shown strong improvement, particularly in 6th grade math, which jumped from 38.5% to 50.2% proficiency in one year. In contrast, Eastwood Middle School (711 students) ranks 344th (22nd percentile) and Westlawn Middle School (568 students) ranks 393rd (11th percentile), both earning 1-star ratings. Westlawn's 7th grade math proficiency of just 4.4% is the single lowest metric in the dataset.
The achievement gap tracks closely with poverty rates: Tuscaloosa Magnet has 30.1% free/reduced lunch eligibility, Northridge 39.1%, Eastwood 71.5%, and Westlawn 87.9%. Interestingly, spending does not predict success—Westlawn spends the most per student ($13,988) yet performs worst, while Northridge spends the least ($9,554) and performs second-best. Westlawn also has the district's lowest chronic absenteeism (7.4%), suggesting its struggles stem from factors beyond attendance. All schools perform better in English than math, a district-wide pattern. Essentially, this district operates as two systems: Tuscaloosa Magnet and Northridge serve as high-performing options, while Eastwood and Westlawn face significant challenges. Northridge's recent gains offer hope that improvement is possible for the struggling schools.
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