High Schools in Tuscaloosa County

The six public high schools in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, serve grades 9-12 and range in size from about 456 students at Holt High School to over 1,600 students at Tuscaloosa County High School, with the district itself ranking in the bottom half of Alabama school systems.

Northside High School is the clear standout, having rocketed from the 51st percentile to the top 8% of Alabama schools in just two years. It leads the district in every academic subject, with math proficiency at 44% compared to the district average of 21%, and boasts a 98.8% graduation rate. At the other end, Holt High School struggles despite receiving the most funding per student ($17,319, more than double most peers). Holt has the lowest test scores, with only 9.35% of students proficient in math, and the highest poverty rate at 78%. The four remaining schools—Hillcrest High School, Brookwood High School, Sipsey Valley High School, and Tuscaloosa County High School—cluster in the middle, with similar poverty rates (41-50%) and test scores hovering near district averages but below state averages.

Notably, Holt High School has the lowest chronic absenteeism rate in the district (7%) yet the worst academics, suggesting attendance isn't the issue there. Conversely, Tuscaloosa County High School has the highest chronic absenteeism (20.1%) and the lowest graduation rate (89.7%). Math is a district-wide weakness, as every school falls below the state average of 27% proficiency. The success of Northside High School with only average funding proves that effective resource use can overcome economic challenges, offering a potential blueprint for the rest of the district.