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Salem Elementary School

Public Grades PK, KG-5

586^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 686 Alabama Elementary Schools

Better than 15% of Alabama elementary schools

Summary

Salem Elementary School is a small, rural school in Orrville, AL, serving 155 students in grades PK-5 within the Dallas County school district, where about 78% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch.

The most striking thing about Salem is its exceptional 3rd grade math performance. In the most recent school year, 50% of 3rd graders were proficient in math—far exceeding the district average of 29.3% and even beating the state average of 44.89%. In fact, in 2022-2023, an incredible 73.68% of 3rd graders were proficient, more than triple the district rate. This is a genuine strength that sets Salem apart from every comparable school in the region, including higher-performing Valley Grande Elementary School, where only 43.1% of 3rd graders were proficient in math. However, this success doesn't carry through to upper grades. The school sees a dramatic drop-off, with 4th grade math proficiency falling to just 9.09% and 5th grade to 10.53%—a staggering 40-percentage-point decline. This pattern has persisted for years, suggesting a systemic issue with how math instruction evolves after 3rd grade rather than a one-year fluke.

Another concern is chronic absenteeism, which sits at 21.8%—nearly double the state average of 12.0%. While this is high, it's worth noting the school has improved from a peak of 33.5% in 2022-2023, and nearby ABC Elementary in Wilcox County serves a similar demographic with just a 1.0% absenteeism rate, showing improvement is possible. On a positive note, Salem has demonstrated strong results with its African American students, ranking in the 69th percentile statewide for that subgroup in 2023-2024. The school also spends more per student ($11,997) than nearby schools like Valley Grande ($8,689), yet this investment hasn't translated into consistent upper-grade success. For parents, the key takeaway is that Salem has proven it can achieve excellent results in 3rd grade—the challenge is sustaining that momentum through 4th and 5th grade.

155

Students ?

17.2

Student/teacher ratio ?

$11,997

Per pupil spending ?

78.1%

Free/discounted lunch ?

3486 Dallas Road 3
Orrville, AL 36767-2532

(334) 996-8636

District: Dallas County

Students who attend Salem Elementary School usually attend:

High:

Keith MiddleHigh School

Racial breakdown:

African American:

94.8%

Hispanic:

2.6%

White:

1.3%

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At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 16th percentile in 2016 → 15th in 2026

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Alabama average (27% vs 53% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (15th percentile)

!High chronic absenteeism (22% vs 12% Alabama)

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school27%

District avg29%

Alabama avg53%

586^th of 686

Alabama public elementary schools ?

Bottom 15%▼ down 1 pts since 2016

See the entire ranking list of Alabama Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

2^nd of 4Elementary Schools in the Dallas County

128^th of 140Dallas County 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	15.9	586 of 686	14.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	23.5	517 of 680	24.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	34.3	464 of 684	32.2%	★★☆☆☆
2023	35.3	455 of 680	33.1%	★★☆☆☆
2022	11.0	633 of 687	7.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	17.1	574 of 692	17.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	16.4	583 of 681	14.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	10.8	622 of 680	8.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2017	9.3	647 of 688	6.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2016	18.1	581 of 691	15.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	11.1	642 of 691	7.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2014	6.6	684 of 695	1.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2013	7.7	684 of 696	1.7%	☆☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2026	29.9	317 of 428	25.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	38.8	255 of 427	40.3%	★★☆☆☆
2024	59.7	131 of 420	68.8%	★★★☆☆
2023	48.9	191 of 427	55.3%	★★★☆☆
2022	23.2	359 of 426	15.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	36.1	263 of 426	38.3%	★★☆☆☆
2019	34.1	297 of 426	30.3%	★★☆☆☆
2018	25.7	347 of 423	18.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	18.9	310 of 336	7.7%	☆☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2026	10.5	611 of 651	6.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	33.0	450 of 649	30.7%	★★☆☆☆
2024	28.6	478 of 650	26.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	35.1	429 of 645	33.5%	★★☆☆☆
2022	9.8	626 of 656	4.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	20.2	528 of 656	19.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	16.1	565 of 646	12.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	14.2	572 of 640	10.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	9.3	614 of 639	3.9%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2026	17.9	584 of 667	12.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	29.3	487 of 660	26.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	44.1	394 of 670	41.2%	★★☆☆☆
2023	40.8	380 of 623	39.0%	★★☆☆☆
2022	14.8	588 of 651	9.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	17.5	565 of 653	13.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	23.0	538 of 649	17.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	14.6	595 of 651	8.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2017	10.9	535 of 567	5.6%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2023	21.2	509 of 649	21.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	23.2	510 of 669	23.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	22.1	513 of 669	23.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	12.4	597 of 650	8.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	14.9	576 of 650	11.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	10.6	596 of 639	6.7%	☆☆☆☆☆

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)

African American (2026)26th percentile+11 vs school

Male (2023)22nd percentile-12 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)12th percentile~ school

Female (2026)6th percentile-8 vs school

By subject vs Alabama (2025-2026) ?

English32%-32 vs state

Mathematics23%-19 vs state

Science23%-28 vs state

★

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Schools Near Salem Elementary School

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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 (2025)	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 Mathematics 6th Grade	Summative Assessment Science 4th Grade	Summative Assessment English 3rd Grade	Summative Assessment English 4th Grade	Summative Assessment English 5th Grade	Summative Assessment English 6th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Salem Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	3486 Dallas Road 3	Orrville	36767	Dallas County	Dallas County	No	No	No	Yes	(334) 996-8636	155	9	17.2	78.1%	2 (1.3%)	147 (94.8%)	4 (2.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (1.3%)	15.9	586^th of 686 public elementary schools	14.6%		23.5	517^th of 680 public elementary schools	24.0%	69	50.0	9.1	10.5		22.7	38.9	31.8	26.3		$11,997	$2,121	$9,854
Meadowview Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	1816 Orrville Rd	Selma	36701	Dallas County	Selma City	No	No	No	Yes	(334) 874-1655	334	17	19.7	76.3%	17 (5.1%)	300 (89.8%)	4 (1.2%)	5 (1.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (2.4%)	33.4	471^st of 686 public elementary schools	31.3%		28.3	487^th of 680 public elementary schools	28.4%	16	40.9	41.7	10.3	26.5	38.9	53.3	56.8	27.6	49.0	$10,109	$1,741	$8,361
ABC Elementary	Public	PK, KG-6	3000 County Road 29	Alberta	36720	Wilcox County	Wilcox County	No	No	No	Yes	(334) 682-2030	103	7	14.7	80.6%	0 (0.0%)	99 (96.1%)	4 (3.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	13.6	605^th of 686 public elementary schools	11.8%		13.7	601^st of 680 public elementary schools	11.6%	4	18.2	15.4		9.1	23.1	45.5	46.2		18.2	$15,352	$3,419	$11,904
Edgewood Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	709 Highland Ave	Selma	36701	Dallas County	Selma City	No	No	No	Yes	(334) 874-1640	402	22	18.3	88.6%	3 (0.7%)	385 (95.8%)	3 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (2.7%)	7.5	668^th of 686 public elementary schools	2.6%		10	638^th of 680 public elementary schools	6.2%	30	9.5	8.9	9.5	10.5	15.6	35.9	26.7	28.6	31.0	$9,321	$1,918	$7,396
Clark Elementary School	Public	K-6	405 Lawrence St	Selma	36703	Dallas County	Selma City	No	No	No	Yes	(334) 874-1630	113	8	14.1	97.3%	4 (3.5%)	105 (92.9%)	2 (1.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (1.8%)	5	680^th of 686 public elementary schools	0.9%		22.7	524^th of 680 public elementary schools	22.9%	156	5.6	11.1	0.0	4.2	11.1	11.1	22.2	16.7	33.3	$10,376	$2,448	$7,920
Payne Elementary School	Public	K-6	1529 N Franklin St	Selma	36701	Dallas County	Selma City	No	No	No	Yes	(334) 874-1660	164	10	16.4	96.3%	0 (0.0%)	163 (99.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.6%)	17.2	578^th of 686 public elementary schools	15.7%		17.5	563^rd of 680 public elementary schools	17.2%	15	50.0	13.0	33.3	7.7	8.7	38.9	29.2	33.3	23.1	$10,444	$2,016	$8,420
Sophia P Kingston Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	2224 Selma Ave	Selma	36703	Dallas County	Selma City	No	No	No	Yes	(334) 874-1635	305	13	23.4	76.7%	2 (0.7%)	292 (95.7%)	2 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (3.0%)	15.4	590^th of 686 public elementary schools	14.0%		13.5	603^rd of 680 public elementary schools	11.3%	13	8.5	24.4	0.0	25.0	19.5	36.2	26.8	55.2	41.7	$13,079	$3,106	$9,965
Southside Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	3104 Old Montgomery Hwy	Selma	36701	Dallas County	Dallas County	No	No	No	Yes	(334) 874-9566	147	8	18.3	87.8%	2 (1.4%)	137 (93.2%)	2 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (4.1%)	9.3	648^th of 686 public elementary schools	5.5%					(n/a)	14.0	10.9	11.4		19.6	42.0	32.6	40.0		$11,494	$2,250	$9,221
Brantley Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-8	5585 Water Ave	Selma	36703	Dallas County	Dallas County	No	No	No	Yes	(334) 874-8185	204	10	20.4	86.8%	27 (13.2%)	155 (76.0%)	5 (2.5%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (7.8%)	10.9	636^th of 686 public elementary schools	7.3%		10.6	632^nd of 680 public elementary schools	7.1%	4	16.1	15.4	12.9		30.8	29.0	38.5	25.8		$10,642	$2,130	$8,491
Valley Grande Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	2765 Dallas County Road 81	Valley Grande	36701	Dallas County	Dallas County	No	No	No	Yes	(334) 872-7661	353	17	20.7	77.1%	103 (29.2%)	207 (58.6%)	12 (3.4%)	5 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	26 (7.4%)	27.9	501^st of 686 public elementary schools	27.0%		28.2	491^st of 680 public elementary schools	27.8%	10	43.1	21.6	9.4		25.5	69.0	43.1	50.9		$8,689	$1,547	$7,121

Frequently Asked Questions about Salem Elementary School

What district is Salem Elementary School in?

Dallas County

Is Salem Elementary School a good school?

Salem Elementary School ranks in the bottom 14.6% of Alabama elementary schools.

How many students attend Salem Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 155 students attended Salem Elementary School.

What is the racial makeup of Salem Elementary School?

Students at Salem Elementary School are 95% African American, 3% Hispanic, 1% White, 1% Two or more races.

What schools do graduates of Salem Elementary School attend?

Students who attend Salem Elementary School usually go on to attend:

High : Keith MiddleHigh School

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Latest Alabama data All new data »

2025–26 Summative Assessment scoresAug 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.