Keith MiddleHigh School

Keith MiddleHigh School is a small, rural school in Orrville, Alabama, serving 188 students in grades 6 through 12 as part of the Dallas County school district, where roughly 90% of students come from low-income households.

The most urgent concern for parents is the school's dramatic academic decline. After a brief improvement in 2023-2024, when the school ranked in the 36th percentile statewide, Keith MiddleHigh has plummeted to the bottom 1% of Alabama schools. Test scores for 2025-2026 show near-zero proficiency across core subjects, including 0% proficiency in 11th grade English and science, and 0% in 6th and 7th grade math. This collapse affected every student group, with performance dropping sharply across the board. While the school's graduation rate of 89.4% exceeds the district average and approaches the state average, parents should understand that students are graduating without demonstrating grade-level mastery. The school spends more per student ($14,621) than nearby Southside High School ($13,183) and Selma High School ($10,857), yet academic outcomes are among the worst in the state.

There is one notable bright spot: chronic absenteeism has fallen dramatically from 28.1% to just 3.5% in two years—far better than the district and state averages. This suggests students are now consistently showing up to school, but the time in class is not translating into learning gains. Compared to nearby Selma High School, Keith has a better graduation rate and attendance, but Selma outperforms Keith in every academic subject. The 2023-2024 school year proved this school is capable of better results, making the current collapse particularly concerning. For parents, the key takeaway is that Keith MiddleHigh has solved its attendance problem but now faces an urgent need to improve instructional quality and academic outcomes.