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Richard Arrington Elementary

Q: Is Richard Arrington Elementary a good school?

Richard Arrington Elementary ranks in the bottom 4.7% of Alabama elementary schools.

Q: How many students attend Richard Arrington Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 341 students attended Richard Arrington Elementary.

Q: What is the racial makeup of Richard Arrington Elementary?

Students at Richard Arrington Elementary are 86% African American, 12% Hispanic, 1% White.

Public Grades PK, KG-5

654^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 686 Alabama Elementary Schools

Better than 5% of Alabama elementary schools

Summary

Richard Arrington Elementary is a PK-5 school in Birmingham, AL, serving 341 students in the Birmingham City district, where about 80% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch. The school has faced significant academic challenges, ranking in the bottom 5-7% of Alabama elementary schools in recent years, with math proficiency rates particularly low—ranging from 9.3% in 5th grade to 14.29% in 4th grade, compared to state averages of 39-45%. English language arts is a relative strength, with 5th grade proficiency reaching 44.19%, though still below the state average of 59-70%. Science proficiency in 4th grade was 17.14% versus a 50.23% state average.

There are encouraging signs of progress. Chronic absenteeism has dropped dramatically from 24.5% in 2021-2022 to 14.9% in 2024-2025—a nearly 40% reduction—and is now lower than nearby Hemphill Elementary (24.8%) and Minor Elementary (17.0%). Fifth grade English proficiency has also improved by 129% over three years, rising from 19.3% to 44.19%, suggesting that literacy interventions are gaining traction. However, the student-teacher ratio has increased from 15.2 to 18.9, which is concerning given the school's academic needs.

Comparisons with nearby schools highlight both challenges and possibilities. Princeton School, just 2 miles away, achieves proficiency rates 5-6 times higher in math and English despite serving a similar community, with a lower student-teacher ratio (13:1) and chronic absenteeism of just 0.5%. Charles A. Brown Elementary shows stronger 5th grade English performance (63.41%) despite similar demographics. These examples suggest that school-level strategies—not just socioeconomic factors—can drive improvement, offering hope that targeted resources in math instruction and continued attendance efforts could accelerate progress at Richard Arrington.

341

Students ?

18.9

Student/teacher ratio ?

80.4%

Free/discounted lunch ?

2101 Jefferson Avenue SW
Birmingham, AL 35211

(205) 231-1130

District: Birmingham City

Racial breakdown:

African American:

85.6%

Hispanic:

12.0%

White:

1.5%

See top rated Alabama elementary schools

Compare Richard Arrington Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — <1st percentile in 2021 → 5th in 2026

Strengths

✓Ranking is trending up — up 5 percentile points since 2021

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Alabama average (24% vs 53% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (5th percentile)

!Science scores 33 pts below the Alabama average

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school24%

District avg32%

Alabama avg53%

654^th of 686

Alabama public elementary schools ?

Bottom 5%▲ up 4 pts since 2021

From bottom 1% (2021) to bottom 5% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Alabama Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

119^th of 139Birmingham City among Alabama districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2026	8.6	654 of 686	4.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	5.3	672 of 680	1.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	10.7	634 of 684	7.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	6.9	670 of 680	1.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	7.4	679 of 687	1.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	7.5	689 of 692	0.4%	☆☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2026	21.7	382 of 429	11.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	14.4	412 of 427	3.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	23.3	358 of 420	14.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	14.5	417 of 427	2.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	13.3	422 of 426	0.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	14.3	422 of 426	0.9%	☆☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2026	10.4	614 of 652	5.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	7.9	632 of 649	2.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	16.7	558 of 650	14.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	8.3	624 of 645	3.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	6.9	651 of 656	0.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	8.1	652 of 656	0.6%	☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2023	30.1	139 of 184	24.5%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2026	12.6	625 of 668	6.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	8.0	648 of 660	1.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	13.6	617 of 670	7.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	9.4	607 of 623	2.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	8.2	646 of 651	0.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	8.8	651 of 653	0.3%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2026	10.4	618 of 660	6.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	5.0	649 of 651	0.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	8.3	628 of 655	4.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	6.7	636 of 649	2.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	8.6	653 of 669	2.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	8.0	667 of 669	0.3%	☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2021	17.2	383 of 398	3.8%	☆☆☆☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

Hispanic (2023)24th percentile+23 vs school

African American (2026)11th percentile+6 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)6th percentile~ school

Male (2026)6th percentile~ school

Female (2026)6th percentile~ school

Special Education (2021)4th percentile+3 vs school

By subject vs Alabama (2025-2026) ?

English37%-27 vs state

Science17%-33 vs state

Mathematics12%-30 vs state

★

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Schools Near Richard Arrington Elementary

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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 3rd Grade	Summative Assessment Mathematics 4th Grade	Summative Assessment Mathematics 5th Grade	Summative Assessment Science 4th Grade	Summative Assessment English 3rd Grade	Summative Assessment English 4th Grade	Summative Assessment English 5th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Richard Arrington Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	2101 Jefferson Avenue SW	Birmingham	35211	Jefferson County	Birmingham City	No	No	No	Yes	(205) 231-1130	341	18	18.9	80.4%	5 (1.5%)	292 (85.6%)	41 (12.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.9%)	8.6	654^th of 686 public elementary schools	4.7%		5.3	672^nd of 680 public elementary schools	1.2%	18	12.2	14.3	9.3	17.1	38.8	28.6	44.2
West End Academy	Public	PK, KG-5	1840 Pearson Avenue SW	Birmingham	35211	Jefferson County	Birmingham City	No	No	No	Yes	(205) 231-1742	492	28	17.5	76.8%	4 (0.8%)	403 (81.9%)	80 (16.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (1.0%)	9.8	642^nd of 686 public elementary schools	6.4%		7.8	660^th of 680 public elementary schools	2.9%	18	9.4	14.5	22.8	12.0	34.4	28.0	44.8	$10,378	$1,589	$8,788
Central Park Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	4915 Ave Q	Birmingham	35208	Jefferson County	Birmingham City	No	No	No	Yes	(205) 231-1250	386	23	16.7	72.3%	1 (0.3%)	303 (78.5%)	75 (19.4%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	5 (1.3%)	11.2	632^nd of 686 public elementary schools	7.9%		21.1	533^rd of 680 public elementary schools	21.6%	99	18.2	17.7	8.9	16.1	41.8	39.3	41.8	$11,240	$1,956	$9,283
Hemphill Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	714 12th Street SW	Birmingham	35211	Jefferson County	Birmingham City	No	No	No	Yes	(205) 231-7500	353	20	17.6	79.0%	4 (1.1%)	312 (88.4%)	33 (9.3%)	2 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.6%)	13.4	607^th of 686 public elementary schools	11.5%		13.3	606^th of 680 public elementary schools	10.9%	1	32.6	8.7	9.4	13.0	44.4	39.1	44.4	$11,087	$2,703	$8,383
Charles A Brown Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	4811 Court J	Birmingham	35208	Jefferson County	Birmingham City	No	No	No	Yes	(205) 231-6860	296	18	16.4	83.1%	0 (0.0%)	276 (93.2%)	19 (6.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	17.1	579^th of 686 public elementary schools	15.6%		18.8	553^rd of 680 public elementary schools	18.7%	26	10.7	15.6	20.0	16.3	46.4	36.4	63.4	$11,676	$1,394	$10,280
Princeton School	Public, Magnet	PK, KG-5	1425 2nd Ave W	Birmingham	35208	Jefferson County	Birmingham City	No	Yes	No	Yes	(205) 231-2500	195	15	13.0	55.4%	0 (0.0%)	194 (99.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.5%)	85.6	86^th of 686 public elementary schools	87.5%		91.3	45^th of 680 public elementary schools	93.4%	41	68.0	79.3	57.1	58.6	88.0	79.3	82.9	$12,109	$2,245	$9,861
Minor Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	2425 Ave SEnsley	Birmingham	35218	Jefferson County	Birmingham City	No	No	No	Yes	(205) 231-6555	441	24	18.3	80.3%	2 (0.5%)	392 (88.9%)	38 (8.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (2.0%)	12.9	614^th of 686 public elementary schools	10.5%		9.9	639^th of 680 public elementary schools	6.0%	25	27.1	16.3	15.4	15.0	41.4	31.3	48.1	$12,293	$2,301	$9,991
Robinson Primary School	Public	K-2	301 61st St	Fairfield	35064	Jefferson County	Fairfield City	No	No	No	Yes	(205) 783-6827	238	14	17.0	86.6%	0 (0.0%)	220 (92.4%)	11 (4.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (2.9%)								(n/a)								$12,020	$2,367	$9,535
Midfield Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-4	416 Parkwood St	Midfield	35228	Jefferson County	Midfield City	No	No	No	Yes	(205) 923-7727	377	18	20.9	76.7%	1 (0.3%)	321 (85.1%)	49 (13.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.5%)	4 (1.1%)	13.6	603^rd of 686 public elementary schools	12.1%		7.8	658^th of 680 public elementary schools	3.2%	55	13.9	20.3		34.4	31.0	35.9		$11,182	$1,903	$9,275
Freedom Prep Academy	Public, Charter	K-1	630 1st Avenue S	Birmingham	35205	Jefferson County	Freedom Prep Academy	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(334) 521-6094	41			68.3%	1 (2.4%)	35 (85.4%)	4 (9.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (2.4%)	7.7	665^th of 686 public elementary schools	3.1%					(n/a)	9.1	12.5		18.8	22.7	37.5

Frequently Asked Questions about Richard Arrington Elementary

What is the racial makeup of Richard Arrington Elementary?

Students at Richard Arrington Elementary are 86% African American, 12% Hispanic, 1% White.

What district is Richard Arrington Elementary in?

Birmingham City

How many students attend Richard Arrington Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 341 students attended Richard Arrington Elementary.

Is Richard Arrington Elementary a good school?

Richard Arrington Elementary ranks in the bottom 4.7% of Alabama elementary schools.

Rate Richard Arrington Elementary!

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Latest Alabama data All new data »

2025–26 Summative Assessment scoresNewAug 14, 2026

2024–25 attendance data & graduation ratesDec 27, 2025

2024–25 Summative Assessment scoresAug 14, 2025

2021–22 through 2023–24 attendance data & graduation ratesDec 2, 2024

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.