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Middle Schools in Tuscaloosa County

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At a glance

DistrictTuscaloosa County87^th of 139 Alabama districtsFull district overview →

Schools

4,662

Students

Top rankedSipsey Valley Middle School148^th of 443 Alabama middle schools

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Biggest riser

Echols Middle School up 40 spots statewide this year

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Smallest classes

Northside Middle School 16.7 students per teacher

SchoolDigger ratings

3★

1★

2 schools without a SchoolDigger rating (too few tested students)

Compare Alabama districts →See the top-ranked Alabama schools →

Summary:

The Tuscaloosa County school district includes 9 middle schools serving grades 5-8, with a total enrollment of approximately 4,122 students across a mix of suburban and rural communities in west-central Alabama.

For parents, the standout choice is Sipsey Valley Middle School, which ranks highest in the district (67th percentile, 3 stars) and shows the most dramatic improvement, jumping 20 percentile points over two years. It leads the district in 8th grade science (63.57% proficiency) and 8th grade English (70.45%), and also spends the most per student ($10,233). Northport Intermediate School (grades 5-6) is another strong option with the district's best 5th grade math scores (45.92%) and remarkably low chronic absenteeism at just 3.3%. Northside Middle School also performs well, posting the district's highest 6th and 7th grade English scores and maintaining a 3-star rating for three straight years. Duncanville Middle School offers quiet consistency with a 3-star rating three years running and balanced performance across subjects.

At the other end, Davis-Emerson Middle School is the lowest-ranked school (12th percentile, 1 star), with 7th and 8th grade math proficiency below 6% and the highest chronic absenteeism (15.9%). Hillcrest Middle School also struggles academically (23rd percentile) with the single lowest subject score in the dataset (6th grade math at 5.42%), despite having the second-lowest absenteeism rate. The district's biggest systemic issue is math: proficiency gaps versus state averages range from 7 to 12 percentage points across all grade levels, while English scores are much closer to state norms. Notably, Echols Middle School shows a 37-point gap between its 8th grade English (60.4%) and math (23.08%) proficiency. Schools serving only grades 5-6, like Collins-Riverside Middle School, show stronger 5th grade performance than 6th grade, suggesting a transition challenge. Overall, while poverty rates correlate with outcomes, Sipsey Valley and Northport Intermediate prove that moderate-poverty schools can still achieve strong results.

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				Summative Assessment Mathematics (2026)				Summative Assessment Science (2026)	Summative Assessment English (2026)				Per Pupil Expenditures (2019)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	Summative Assessment Mathematics 5th Grade	Summative Assessment Mathematics 6th Grade	Summative Assessment Mathematics 7th Grade	Summative Assessment Mathematics 8th Grade	Summative Assessment Science 8th Grade	Summative Assessment English 5th Grade	Summative Assessment English 6th Grade	Summative Assessment English 7th Grade	Summative Assessment English 8th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Hillcrest Middle School	Public	6-8	401 Hillcrest School Rd	Tuscaloosa	35405	Tuscaloosa County	Tuscaloosa County	No	No	No	No	(205) 342-2820	542	28	19.3	58.7%	80 (14.8%)	424 (78.2%)	24 (4.4%)	4 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (1.8%)	23	343^rd of 443 public middle schools	22.6%		22.6	342^nd of 439 public middle schools	22.1%	1		5.4	14.3	11.4	27.9		34.3	44.8	46.6	$8,185	$843	$7,319
CollinsRiverside Middle School	Public	5-6	1400 3rd St	Northport	35476	Tuscaloosa County	Tuscaloosa County	No	No	No	No	(205) 342-2680	318	18	17.4	74.5%	75 (23.6%)	156 (49.1%)	80 (25.2%)	4 (1.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.9%)								(n/a)	21.3	23.8				67.7	47.6			$8,444	$849	$7,571
Echols Middle School	Public	7-8	2701 Echols Ave	Northport	35476	Tuscaloosa County	Tuscaloosa County	No	No	No	No	(205) 342-2884	738	42	17.5	55.1%	350 (47.4%)	212 (28.7%)	151 (20.5%)	9 (1.2%)	3 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (1.8%)	59	159^th of 443 public middle schools	64.1%		51.5	199^th of 439 public middle schools	54.7%	40			24.2	23.1	54.4			60.3	60.4	$6,871	$719	$6,063
Brookwood Middle School	Public	6-8	17021 Brookwood Parkway	Vance	35490	Tuscaloosa County	Tuscaloosa County	No	No	No	No	(205) 342-2748	738	37	19.9	48.8%	530 (71.8%)	118 (16.0%)	70 (9.5%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (2.6%)	22.2	348^th of 443 public middle schools	21.4%		27.1	323^rd of 439 public middle schools	26.4%	25		15.9	9.6	9.6	34.0		44.6	36.5	39.2	$6,930	$795	$6,111
Duncanville Middle School	Public	6-8	11205 Eagle Parkway	Duncanville	35456	Tuscaloosa County	Tuscaloosa County	No	No	No	No	(205) 342-2830	460	21	21.9	48.9%	238 (51.7%)	176 (38.3%)	34 (7.4%)	3 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (2.0%)	50.2	217^th of 443 public middle schools	51.0%		49.7	210^th of 439 public middle schools	52.2%	7		31.3	17.6	25.4	51.5		52.5	55.8	55.8	$8,738	$1,009	$7,706
Northside Middle School	Public	6-8	19130 Northside Parkway	Northport	35546	Tuscaloosa County	Tuscaloosa County	No	No	No	No	(205) 342-2740	394	24	16.7	27.4%	358 (90.9%)	8 (2.0%)	19 (4.8%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.8%)	5 (1.3%)	58.1	164^th of 443 public middle schools	63.0%		53.7	181^st of 439 public middle schools	58.8%	17		30.4	23.6	26.4	43.2		71.4	67.5	54.4	$8,133	$1,036	$7,072
DavisEmerson Middle School	Public	6-8	1500 Bulldog Blvd	Cottondale	35453	Tuscaloosa County	Tuscaloosa County	No	No	No	Yes	(205) 342-2750	397	21	18.9	79.3%	87 (21.9%)	165 (41.6%)	137 (34.5%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (1.8%)	14.2	391^st of 443 public middle schools	11.7%		19.2	361^st of 439 public middle schools	17.8%	30		14.9	6.0	5.7	25.4		33.0	23.3	38.5	$9,532	$2,028	$7,480
Sipsey Valley Middle School	Public	5-8	15817 Romulus Rd	Buhl	35446	Tuscaloosa County	Tuscaloosa County	No	No	No	No	(205) 342-2870	575	28	20.3	46.4%	393 (68.3%)	101 (17.6%)	70 (12.2%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.3%)	8 (1.4%)	60.5	148^th of 443 public middle schools	66.6%		53.3	183^rd of 439 public middle schools	58.3%	35	38.0	34.7	21.8	26.7	63.6	76.6	62.1	46.8	70.5	$10,233	$632	$7,231
Northport Intermediate School	Public	5-6	13688 Frankie Thomas Trace	Northport	35475	Tuscaloosa County	Tuscaloosa County	No	No	No	No	(205) 342-2690	500	25	19.6	44.0%	302 (60.4%)	101 (20.2%)	87 (17.4%)	4 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (1.2%)								(n/a)	45.9	31.3				74.7	65.2

Districts nearby

District	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Tuscaloosa City	2.72 mi	21	75^th
I Dream Big Charter Schools	5.48 mi	1
Hale County	10.19 mi	8	111^th
Bibb County	23.58 mi	9	84^th
Pickens County	25.22 mi	7	102^nd

See the top AL Alabama districts

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Alabama State Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.