Benjamin Russell High School

Benjamin Russell High School in Alexander City, AL, serves 852 students in grades 9-12 and is part of the Alexander City district. The school has experienced significant ups and downs in its statewide ranking over the past decade, recently dropping from a 4-star rating (75th percentile) in 2023-2024 to a 2-star rating (48th percentile) in 2025-2026.

Despite this recent decline, Benjamin Russell remains the strongest academic performer in its immediate area. In 11th-grade testing, the school outperforms both Central High School and Dadeville High School in math, science, and English—even while serving a larger student body and spending less per student ($10,158 vs. Central's $11,807). The school also maintains a favorable student-to-teacher ratio of 15.4:1, better than either nearby school. However, test scores still trail the state average, with the largest gap in mathematics (17% proficient vs. 27% statewide).

Parents should be aware of a few important trends. The school has made remarkable progress reducing chronic absenteeism from 24.9% to 11.8%—now matching the state average—but this hasn't translated into higher test scores. More concerning, the school is now serving a significantly more economically disadvantaged population (free/reduced lunch jumped from 38% to 58% in one year), and performance for low-income students has plummeted from the 79th percentile to the 23rd percentile. Special education students also rank in the bottom 10% statewide. The graduation rate of 88.8% is slightly below the state average of 91.5%. While the school has shown it can achieve high rankings, its ability to adapt support systems to its changing student population will be critical in determining whether it can reverse its recent decline.