Beta You're viewing our redesigned school page. Prefer the classic layout?

Cherokee Elementary School

Q: Is Cherokee Elementary School a good school?

Cherokee Elementary School ranks 106 th of 686 Alabama elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 3-5

106^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 686 Alabama Elementary Schools

Better than 85% of Alabama elementary schools

Summary

Cherokee Elementary School in Guntersville, AL, serves 387 students in grades 3 through 5 and is part of the highly ranked Guntersville City district, which holds a 4-star rating and ranks 23rd out of 139 districts statewide.

Cherokee Elementary stands out as a consistent high performer, maintaining a 4-star rating for the past decade and ranking in the 83rd to 88th percentile statewide over the last five years. What truly sets this school apart is its exceptional support for students who often face greater challenges. Cherokee ranks in the 94th percentile statewide for Special Education students, earning a 5-star rating—a remarkable achievement that far exceeds other schools in the region. Additionally, despite over half of its students (50.13%) qualifying for free or reduced lunch, the school achieves an 85th percentile ranking for low socio-economic status students, demonstrating that it effectively mitigates the challenges associated with economic disadvantage. This combination of high overall performance and top-tier results for these subgroups makes Cherokee a model of equitable education.

Academically, Cherokee's test scores are dramatically higher than nearby schools. For example, in 2025-2026, Cherokee's 4th-grade math proficiency was 71.09%, compared to 38.12% at Douglas Elementary School and 37.19% at Albertville Elementary School. Similarly, 5th-grade English proficiency at Cherokee (80.17%) is nearly 30 percentage points higher than at Douglas (54.1%). Cherokee also keeps students engaged, with a chronic absenteeism rate of 11.1%—lower than both the state average (12.0%) and its own district average (14.6%). While the school saw a slight dip in its overall ranking from 84th in 2022-2023 to 106th in 2025-2026, it remains a standout institution that achieves excellent results without requiring the highest funding in the area, spending $9,913 per student compared to $13,239 at Brindlee Mountain Elementary School.

387

Students ?

19.3

Student/teacher ratio ?

$9,913

Per pupil spending ?

50.1%

Free/discounted lunch ?

3300 Highway 79 South
Guntersville, AL 35976

(256) 582-3908

District: Guntersville City

Students who attend Cherokee Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	Guntersville Middle School
High:	Guntersville High School

Racial breakdown:

White:

77.0%

African American:

14.2%

Hispanic:

4.4%

See top rated Alabama elementary schools

Compare Cherokee Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 71st percentile in 2016 → 85th in 2026

Strengths

✓Test scores above the Alabama average (70% vs 53% meeting standards)

✓Ranks in the top 15% of Alabama elementary schools

✓Ranking is trending up — up 14 percentile points since 2016

Worth a look

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school70%

District avg70%

Alabama avg53%

106^th of 686

Alabama public elementary schools ?

Top 15%▲ up 13 pts since 2016

From top 29% (2016) to top 15% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Alabama Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

22^nd of 140Guntersville 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	81.8	106 of 686	84.5%	★★★★☆
2025	80.8	110 of 680	83.8%	★★★★☆
2024	82.0	107 of 684	84.4%	★★★★☆
2023	84.3	84 of 680	87.6%	★★★★☆
2022	80.1	114 of 687	83.4%	★★★★☆
2021	73.4	146 of 692	78.9%	★★★★☆
2019	79.7	108 of 681	84.1%	★★★★☆
2018	72.9	173 of 680	74.6%	★★★★☆
2017	66.0	209 of 688	69.6%	★★★☆☆
2016	67.8	198 of 691	71.3%	★★★★☆
2015	68.9	180 of 691	74.0%	★★★★☆
2014	78.3	108 of 695	84.5%	★★★★☆
2013	72.0	142 of 696	79.6%	★★★★☆
2012	76.9	98 of 696	85.9%	★★★★☆
2011	81.4	58 of 709	91.8%	★★★★★
2010	86.9	26 of 704	96.3%	★★★★★
2009	88.3	17 of 696	97.6%	★★★★★
2008	86.8	20 of 698	97.1%	★★★★★
2007	85.0	46 of 698	93.4%	★★★★★
2006	75.1	119 of 689	82.7%	★★★★☆
2005	71.1	161 of 688	76.6%	★★★★☆
2004	75.9	113 of 623	81.9%	★★★★☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2026	57.6	146 of 428	65.9%	★★★☆☆
2025	65.0	112 of 427	73.8%	★★★★☆
2024	61.4	123 of 420	70.7%	★★★★☆
2023	67.0	93 of 427	78.2%	★★★★☆
2022	67.9	92 of 426	78.4%	★★★★☆
2021	58.2	137 of 426	67.8%	★★★☆☆
2019	54.9	161 of 426	62.2%	★★★☆☆
2018	32.2	312 of 423	26.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	25.5	281 of 336	16.4%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2026	75.2	142 of 651	78.2%	★★★★☆
2025	78.4	121 of 649	81.4%	★★★★☆
2024	82.5	94 of 650	85.5%	★★★★☆
2023	84.5	73 of 645	88.7%	★★★★☆
2022	76.6	123 of 656	81.3%	★★★★☆
2021	69.7	162 of 656	75.3%	★★★★☆
2019	76.4	122 of 646	81.1%	★★★★☆
2018	64.9	210 of 640	67.2%	★★★☆☆
2017	60.7	230 of 639	64.0%	★★★☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2022	65.6	47 of 175	73.1%	★★★★☆
2021	50.1	77 of 164	53.0%	★★★☆☆
2018	42.4	81 of 140	42.1%	★★☆☆☆

Homeless

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2025	69.1	6 of 19	68.4%	★★★★☆
2024	50.7	7 of 18	61.1%	★★★☆☆
2022	61.4	2 of 2	0.0%	★★★★☆
2018	55.5	18 of 39	53.8%	★★★☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2026	77.3	102 of 667	84.7%	★★★★☆
2025	71.3	151 of 660	77.1%	★★★★☆
2024	75.7	124 of 670	81.5%	★★★★☆
2023	82.4	61 of 623	90.2%	★★★★★
2022	79.8	81 of 651	87.6%	★★★★☆
2021	59.2	252 of 653	61.4%	★★★☆☆
2019	72.9	111 of 649	82.9%	★★★★☆
2018	59.8	249 of 651	61.8%	★★★☆☆
2017	42.0	358 of 567	36.9%	★★☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2026	82.5	91 of 659	86.2%	★★★★☆
2025	79.6	111 of 651	82.9%	★★★★☆
2024	77.9	121 of 655	81.5%	★★★★☆
2023	80.9	92 of 649	85.8%	★★★★☆
2022	79.0	108 of 669	83.9%	★★★★☆
2021	72.8	144 of 669	78.5%	★★★★☆
2019	79.4	96 of 650	85.2%	★★★★☆
2018	78.9	121 of 650	81.4%	★★★★☆
2017	69.5	161 of 639	74.8%	★★★★☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2026	66.6	56 of 193	71.0%	★★★★☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2026	87.2	26 of 403	93.5%	★★★★★
2025	85.9	40 of 403	90.1%	★★★★★
2024	91.9	22 of 395	94.4%	★★★★★
2023	85.7	23 of 373	93.8%	★★★★★
2022	83.7	30 of 345	91.3%	★★★★★
2021	53.4	145 of 398	63.6%	★★★☆☆
2018	77.0	42 of 344	87.8%	★★★★☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2026	75.8	98 of 501	80.4%	★★★★☆
2025	76.2	101 of 532	81.0%	★★★★☆
2024	79.9	85 of 535	84.1%	★★★★☆
2023	82.9	72 of 528	86.4%	★★★★☆
2022	74.9	102 of 540	81.1%	★★★★☆
2021	67.5	143 of 539	73.5%	★★★★☆
2019	70.8	119 of 529	77.5%	★★★★☆
2018	57.3	208 of 508	59.1%	★★★☆☆
2017	46.8	185 of 369	49.9%	★★★☆☆

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)

Special Education (2026)94th percentile+9 vs school

Male (2026)86th percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)85th percentile~ school

White (2026)80th percentile-4 vs school

Female (2026)78th percentile-6 vs school

Hispanic (2022)73rd percentile-10 vs school

Multi-racial (2026)71st percentile-14 vs school

Homeless (2025)68th percentile-15 vs school

African American (2026)66th percentile-19 vs school

By subject vs Alabama (2025-2026) ?

English78%+14 vs state

Mathematics64%+22 vs state

Science62%+11 vs state

2.0

1 rating · 1 written review

5★0

4★0

3★0

2★1

1★0

Rate Cherokee Elementary School

Have first-hand experience? A quick rating - and a sentence or two about what stands out (teachers, academics, safety, communication) - helps other families know what to expect.

Takes about a minute. We email you a link to verify your review - your address is never shown publicly.

Tap a star to rate

What people are saying

by a parent
Friday, October 5, 2018

My child has received no homework during the first 9 weeks of school. She has only had books which she finished in a day yet carried for weeks. Nothing is sent home to enforce and practice things learned in class nor is any material provided for parents to stay engaged in the "education" we are told she's getting. Many have similar problems to this.
They're workers like in any other business. If a child requires any more effort from faculty than just to be told to stare at a projector with no meaningful interaction or if she becomes restless after quickly finishing the poorly-designed, statistic-padding curriculum, she is segregated from other students and activities as a disturbance. Whether it's alternate/advanced activities to engage in or more pages of the same trivial guff they've become bored with, no additional effort is made for the children who are aware of and show the poor quality of the education provided.
No particular quality of this school stands out as "leadership". No members of the faculty chain are distinguishable from the other besides job title. I admit the word "Leadership" is rather vague, but it's easy to say that the management is completely homogeneous, and that is a bad thing. This makes it easier for a student to disrespect any faculty members from any classroom or with any job title.
These children are excluded (usually to a corner) and prohibited from activities, interaction, and instruction if signs of differences are shown.
All parties involved in bullying are punished, no matter the action or intent. This can cause children to distrust all teachers during times when a serious incident occurs and should be addressed. Making no effort to determine offender from victim and the reasons behind the incident promotes bullying due to no additional punishment to the bully over the one being bullied. This, in turn, makes the student being bullied view the teacher as a bully as well. This is a serious problem. Find out who is the bully. Don't punish everyone and call it done. This causes bullied children to distrust teachers, and do you blame them?

I deeply regret working in this place and I will never return. I learned many lessons of what not to do further in my career from this school. My daughter no longer attends. Close Quote

Schools Near Cherokee Elementary School

Load more schools when map is moved

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 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
Cherokee Elementary School	Public	3-5	3300 Highway 79 South	Guntersville	35976	Marshall County	Guntersville City	No	No	No	Yes	(256) 582-3908	387	20	19.3	50.1%	298 (77.0%)	55 (14.2%)	17 (4.4%)	2 (0.5%)	3 (0.8%)	2 (0.5%)	10 (2.6%)	81.8	106^th of 686 public elementary schools	84.5%		80.8	110^th of 680 public elementary schools	83.8%	4	56.7	71.1	63.8	61.7	77.6	76.6	80.2	$9,913	$1,569	$8,290
Guntersville Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-2	1800 Lusk Street	Guntersville	35976	Marshall County	Guntersville City	No	No	No	Yes	(256) 582-3364	486	31	15.6	50.8%	340 (70.0%)	68 (14.0%)	41 (8.4%)	5 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	31 (6.4%)								(n/a)								$10,969	$1,402	$9,514
Brindlee Mountain Primary School	Public	K-2	1050 Scant City Road	Guntersville	35976	Marshall County	Marshall County	No	No	No	Yes	(256) 753-2532	278	16	17.7	69.8%	242 (87.1%)	3 (1.1%)	20 (7.2%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (4.3%)								(n/a)								$12,604	$1,997	$10,595
Brindlee Mountain Elementary School	Public	3-5	2233 Shoal Creek Rd	Arab	35016	Marshall County	Marshall County	No	No	No	Yes	(256) 753-2246	286	14	21.1	61.2%	262 (91.6%)	1 (0.3%)	16 (5.6%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (2.1%)	41.6	419^th of 686 public elementary schools	38.9%		45.4	386^th of 680 public elementary schools	43.2%	33	37.7	39.1	26.5	50.6	61.5	56.5	52.9	$13,239	$2,250	$10,977
Albertville Primary School	Public	1-2	1100 Horton Rd	Albertville	35950	Marshall County	Albertville City	No	No	No	Yes	(256) 878-6611	990	60	16.5	66.1%	258 (26.1%)	78 (7.9%)	617 (62.3%)	5 (0.5%)	4 (0.4%)	1 (0.1%)	27 (2.7%)								(n/a)								$7,833	$527	$7,289
Albertville Elementary School	Public	3-4	145 West End Drive	Albertville	35950	Marshall County	Albertville City	No	No	No	Yes	(256) 894-4822	911	51	17.8	68.9%	259 (28.4%)	56 (6.1%)	567 (62.2%)	2 (0.2%)	10 (1.1%)	1 (0.1%)	16 (1.8%)	35.7	459^th of 686 public elementary schools	33.1%		33.5	458^th of 680 public elementary schools	32.6%	1	45.3	37.2		36.5	38.5	53.0		$9,624	$2,788	$6,819
Albertville Kindergarten and PreK	Public	PK-K	257 Country Club Rd	Albertville	35951	Marshall County	Albertville City	No	No	No	Yes	(256) 878-7922	566	31	18.2	53.7%	193 (34.1%)	54 (9.5%)	304 (53.7%)	2 (0.4%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (2.1%)								(n/a)								$10,634	$2,694	$7,922
Arab Elementary School	Public	3-5	241 8th Ave NE	Arab	35016	Marshall County	Arab City	No	No	No	Yes	(256) 586-6085	599	29	20.6	45.7%	553 (92.3%)	5 (0.8%)	22 (3.7%)	9 (1.5%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (1.3%)	91.6	42^nd of 686 public elementary schools	93.9%		92.3	35^th of 680 public elementary schools	94.9%	7	76.6	80.2	67.7	76.5	84.2	80.8	87.9	$7,777	$1,157	$6,613
Arab Primary School	Public	PK, KG-2	121 Mimosa St NE	Arab	35016	Marshall County	Arab City	No	No	No	Yes	(256) 586-6005	698	39	17.8	39.3%	639 (91.5%)	4 (0.6%)	33 (4.7%)	11 (1.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (1.6%)								(n/a)								$8,396	$1,248	$7,142
Robert D Sloman Primary	Public	PK, KG-2	200 Bethlehem Rd	Douglas	35964	Marshall County	Marshall County	No	No	No	Yes	(256) 593-4912	613	40	15.1	60.7%	331 (54.0%)	19 (3.1%)	242 (39.5%)	1 (0.2%)	4 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (2.6%)								(n/a)								$9,219	$867	$8,339

Frequently Asked Questions about Cherokee Elementary School

What schools do graduates of Cherokee Elementary School attend?

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

Middle : Guntersville Middle School
High : Guntersville High School

How many students attend Cherokee Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 387 students attended Cherokee Elementary School.

Is Cherokee Elementary School a good school?

Cherokee Elementary School ranks 106^th of 686 Alabama elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

What is the racial makeup of Cherokee Elementary School?

Students at Cherokee Elementary School are 77% White, 14% African American, 4% Hispanic, 3% Two or more races.

What district is Cherokee Elementary School in?

Guntersville City

Rate Cherokee Elementary School!

Other helpful SchoolDigger resources...

Compare to nearby schools

ALAlabama Elementary School Rankings

ALAlabama District Rankings

Schools in Guntersville, AL

Sign up for updates!

Be the first to know when there is an update for Cherokee Elementary School!

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.