Saks Elementary School

Saks Elementary School in Anniston, AL, serves approximately 625 students from Pre-K through 6th grade as part of the Calhoun County school district, where about 78% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch.

Academically, Saks Elementary faces significant challenges, particularly in mathematics. In the most recent school year, math proficiency ranged from 19% to 27% across grades, compared to state averages of 35% to 45%. Nearby Alexandria Elementary School achieved math proficiency rates of 48% to 68% in the same grades. English proficiency shows a curious pattern: 3rd graders perform close to the state average (58.5% vs. 64.8%), but 4th grade drops dramatically to 35.6% versus the state's 59.5%. This "3rd grade spike" repeats across multiple years, suggesting strong early literacy intervention that may lose effectiveness in later grades. Test scores also fluctuate wildly from year to year—for example, 3rd grade math swung from 32.9% to 6.7% to 26.8% over three years—which may indicate inconsistent instruction or small class sizes that make percentages unstable.

There are encouraging signs worth noting. Chronic absenteeism has dropped dramatically from 21.2% in 2022-2023 to 9.5% in 2024-2025, now better than both the district and state averages. This improvement may be contributing to modest academic gains. Additionally, the school spends more per student ($9,934) than several higher-performing nearby schools like Weaver Elementary ($8,759) and Wellborn Elementary ($9,170), both of which serve similar poverty levels yet outperform Saks in most subjects. This suggests resource allocation could be improved. While poverty is a significant factor, comparison with demographically similar schools indicates room for growth. Parents should know that Saks has pockets of effectiveness—particularly in 3rd grade reading and recent attendance improvements—but the school overall ranks in the bottom quartile statewide with a 1-star rating.