Best High Schools in Alabama for Special Education Students

Check out our new feature available only on SchoolDigger: rankings for different groups of students in Alabama!

Every year, the Alabama State Department of Education shares test results for various student groups in each school. We use these results to find out which schools do best for each group and list them from the best to the worst.

Additionally, we also compare the performance of the subgroup to the performance of the school as a whole. This makes it easy to see if, for example, Special Education students are overperforming or underperforming their peers in each school.

Year after year, SchoolDigger is always the first to publish Alabama test scores and rankings. Other sites use stale test score data that are several years old! Be in the know with the very latest performance metrics.

The list is updated annually upon the release of the Summative Assessment test scores by the Alabama State Department of Education. The most recent update was on Friday, August 15, 2025.

Be the first to know when we post new test scores and rankings!

School														Students/Teachers											Per Pupil Expenditures (2019)							Ranking (Special Education vs All Students - 2025)					ID
Rank (of 194)	School	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Disc Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Per Pupil Expenditures: Total	Personnel from Federal Funds	Non-Personnel from Federal Funds	Total from Federal Funds	Personnel from State and Local Funds	Non-Personnel from State and Local Funds	Total from State and Local Funds	Statewide Rank Percentile (Special Education)	Statewide Rank Percentile (All Students)	Rank Percentile Difference from All Students	SchoolDigger Rating (Special Education)	SchoolDigger Rating (All Students)	ID
1	Mountain Brook High School	Public	10-12	3650 Bethune Dr	Mountain Brook	35223	Jefferson County	Mountain Brook City	No	No	No	No	(205) 414-3800	985	98	10.1	2.8%	908 (92.2%)	0 (0.0%)	22 (2.2%)	12 (1.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	43 (4.4%)	$16,839			$115			$16,723	99.5%	99.5%	0.02%			010249001056
2	Arab High School	Public	9-12	511 Arabian Dr NE	Arab	35016	Marshall County	Arab City	No	No	No	No	(256) 586-6026	735	50	14.8	39.7%	679 (92.4%)	6 (0.8%)	19 (2.6%)	14 (1.9%)	4 (0.5%)	1 (0.1%)	12 (1.6%)	$10,984			$782			$10,192	99.0%	88.0%	11.00%			010010000028
3	Vestavia Hills High School	Public	10-12	2235 Lime Rock Rd	Vestavia Hills	35216	Jefferson County	Vestavia Hills City	No	No	No	No	(205) 402-5250	1,625	117	13.8	9.8%	1,328 (81.7%)	72 (4.4%)	70 (4.3%)	112 (6.9%)	4 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	39 (2.4%)	$12,105			$678			$11,425	98.5%	99.2%	0.74%			010343001304
4	Hayden High School	Public	8-12	125 Atwood Road	Hayden	35079	Blount County	Blount County	No	No	No	No	(205) 647-0397	798	41	19.3	31.2%	744 (93.2%)	14 (1.8%)	20 (2.5%)	3 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.3%)	15 (1.9%)	$8,508			$676			$7,762	97.9%	63.9%	34.03%			010042000208
5	Carroll High School	Public	7-12	141 Eagle Way	Ozark	36360	Dale County	Ozark City	No	No	No	Yes	(334) 774-4915	640	34	18.8	63.9%	230 (35.9%)	337 (52.7%)	42 (6.6%)	4 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	26 (4.1%)	$10,266			$1,245			$9,021	97.4%	30.5%	66.94%			010264001080
6	Cullman High School	Public	9-12	510 13th St NE	Cullman	35055	Cullman County	Cullman City	No	No	No	No	(256) 734-3923	1,014	62	16.3	28.6%	862 (85.0%)	6 (0.6%)	100 (9.9%)	18 (1.8%)	3 (0.3%)	1 (0.1%)	24 (2.4%)	$10,356			$703			$9,650	96.9%	86.6%	10.28%			010099000370
7	James Clemens High School	Public	9-12	11306 County Line Road	Madison	35756	Limestone County	Madison City	No	No	No	No	(256) 216-5313	2,159	121	17.8	23.3%	1,169 (54.1%)	418 (19.4%)	208 (9.6%)	221 (10.2%)	12 (0.6%)	5 (0.2%)	126 (5.8%)	$9,387			$717			$8,640	96.4%	95.7%	0.67%			010000802198
8	Hanceville High School	Public	9-12	801 Commercial St	Hanceville	35077	Cullman County	Cullman County	No	No	No	No	(256) 352-6111	363	19	18.9	53.4%	267 (73.6%)	17 (4.7%)	51 (14.0%)	1 (0.3%)	3 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	24 (6.6%)	$11,662			$2,641			$8,965	95.9%	55.6%	40.26%			010102000380
9	Washington County High School	Public	5-12	Highway 56	Chatom	36518	Washington County	Washington County	No	No	No	Yes	(251) 847-2851	395	25	16.1	49.4%	285 (72.2%)	69 (17.5%)	3 (0.8%)	1 (0.3%)	35 (8.9%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.5%)	$9,113			$1,400			$7,657	95.4%	70.3%	25.04%			010348001335
10	Saraland High School	Public	9-12	1115 Industrial Parkway	Saraland	36571	Mobile County	Saraland City	No	No	No	Yes	(251) 602-8970	1,134	70	16.1	42.4%	773 (68.2%)	235 (20.7%)	38 (3.4%)	16 (1.4%)	13 (1.1%)	1 (0.1%)	58 (5.1%)	$10,625			$984			$9,626	94.8%	90.9%	3.94%			010018502137

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Other SchoolDigger ranking lists for Alabama

Elementary Schools Middle Schools High Schools Districts Cities

New! SchoolDigger ranking lists for AL student subgroups:

Female Students Male Students Asian Students African American Students Hispanic Students Native American Students White Students Multi-racial Students English Language Learner Students Low Socio Economic Status Students Homeless Students Military Connected Students

About our rankings:

Schooldigger calculates school rankings based on Summative Assessment Mathematics, Summative Assessment Science, Summative Assessment English test scores released by the Alabama State Department of Education.
These rankings were last updated on August 15, 2025, and are based on the most recent test scores available. We update rankings as we receive new test scores from the Alabama State Department of Education, usually on a yearly basis.
Our sources of data include the National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education and the Alabama State Department of Education.
For more information about our ranking process, please see our Ranking FAQ. Details about our methodology are here.

Educational resources:

State-Administered Standardized Tests: A Comprehensive Guide

Public School Districts and Their Services: A Comprehensive Guide

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.