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James Dawson Elementary

Public Grades PK, KG-6

565^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 686 Alabama Elementary Schools

Better than 18% of Alabama elementary schools

Summary

James Dawson Elementary is a PK-6 school in Huntsville, AL, serving 447 students as part of the Huntsville City school district.

James Dawson is a school on the rise. After several challenging years, its state ranking jumped from the 8th percentile in 2024-2025 to the 18th percentile in 2025-2026—its best showing since 2018-2019. This improvement is broad-based, with proficiency rates climbing in most subjects and grades. For example, 4th-grade math proficiency rose from 18.75% to 25.64%, and 5th-grade English jumped from 38.89% to 50%. That 5th-grade English score is particularly notable, as it now outperforms nearby Lakewood Elementary (26.67%), Highlands Elementary (39.02%), and Sonnie Hereford Elementary (31.94%). Chronic absenteeism has also dropped dramatically, from 27.3% in 2022-2023 to 14.0% in 2024-2025—now closer to the state average and better than several peer schools.

Despite this progress, challenges remain. The most pressing concern is 6th-grade math, where only 6.98% of students were proficient in 2025-2026—a sharp drop from the 24.62% proficiency rate in 3rd grade the same year. This suggests a cumulative learning gap that becomes more pronounced in upper grades. The school also continues to trail district and state averages in most subjects, and the gap with magnet schools is stark: Academy For Science Foreign Language, just 1.89 miles away, posts proficiency rates in the 70-80% range. Still, James Dawson's trajectory is encouraging. The data shows a clear recovery from the pandemic-era slump of 2022-2023, and the school's per-student spending of $10,784 is higher than several nearby schools, suggesting resources are being directed toward improvement. For parents, this is a school that appears to be heading in the right direction, with real momentum worth watching.

447

Students ?

17.0

Student/teacher ratio ?

$10,784

Per pupil spending ?

70.7%

Free/discounted lunch ?

5308 Mastin Lake Rd NW
Huntsville, AL 35810

(256) 428-7500

District: Huntsville City

Students who attend James Dawson Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Ronald McNair 78
High:	Jemison High School

Racial breakdown:

African American:

69.6%

Hispanic:

17.9%

White:

5.8%

See top rated Alabama elementary schools

Compare James Dawson Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Rebounding — 4th percentile in 2023 → 18th in 2026

Strengths

✓Ranking is rebounding — up to 18th (2026) from a 4th-percentile low (2023)

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Alabama average (31% vs 51% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (18th percentile)

!English scores 23 pts below the Alabama average

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school31%

District avg47%

Alabama avg51%

565^th of 686

Alabama public elementary schools ?

Bottom 18%▼ down 12 pts since 2016

From bottom 29% (2016) to bottom 18% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Alabama Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

16^th of 23Elementary Schools in the Huntsville City

77^th of 139Huntsville 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	18.8	565 of 686	17.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	11.2	625 of 680	8.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	11.3	626 of 684	8.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	8.6	650 of 680	4.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	10.7	640 of 687	6.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	14.1	605 of 692	12.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	20.9	547 of 681	19.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	22.7	529 of 680	22.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	13.4	615 of 688	10.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	31.9	488 of 691	29.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	25.8	534 of 691	22.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2014	15.3	624 of 695	10.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	16.1	658 of 696	5.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2012	24.6	604 of 696	13.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	22.2	632 of 709	10.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	2.5	701 of 704	0.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2009	2.7	695 of 696	0.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2008	10.6	677 of 698	3.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2007	4.5	685 of 698	1.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2006	13.3	662 of 689	3.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2005	15.4	639 of 688	7.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2004	29.9	486 of 623	22.0%	★☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2026	26.1	350 of 429	18.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	17.7	402 of 427	5.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	18.5	390 of 420	7.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	16.3	408 of 427	4.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	20.7	382 of 426	10.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	28.6	317 of 426	25.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	38.5	267 of 426	37.3%	★★☆☆☆
2018	39.4	269 of 423	36.4%	★★☆☆☆
2017	16.6	316 of 336	6.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2026	12.5	592 of 652	9.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	7.2	636 of 649	2.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	12.3	600 of 650	7.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	9.3	613 of 645	5.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	11.5	608 of 656	7.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	17.1	561 of 656	14.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	22.2	526 of 646	18.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	33.9	447 of 640	30.2%	★★☆☆☆
2017	18.6	542 of 639	15.2%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2023	22.8	154 of 184	16.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2026	27.5	506 of 668	24.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	14.8	604 of 660	8.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	14.0	613 of 670	8.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	7.9	617 of 623	1.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	13.2	607 of 651	6.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	16.1	582 of 653	10.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	28.1	505 of 649	22.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	33.7	464 of 651	28.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	16.5	497 of 567	12.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2026	28.6	469 of 660	28.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	18.8	534 of 651	18.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	11.4	599 of 655	8.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	9.4	612 of 649	5.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	10.9	627 of 669	6.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	11.9	618 of 669	7.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	21.5	524 of 650	19.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	13.8	584 of 650	10.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	11.1	593 of 639	7.2%	☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2024	39.8	226 of 395	42.8%	★★☆☆☆
2023	26.5	299 of 373	19.8%	★☆☆☆☆

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)

Special Education (2024)43rd percentile+34 vs school

Male (2026)29th percentile+11 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)24th percentile+7 vs school

African American (2026)18th percentile~ school

Hispanic (2023)16th percentile+12 vs school

Female (2026)9th percentile-8 vs school

By subject vs Alabama (2025-2026) ?

Science41%-9 vs state

English39%-23 vs state

Mathematics19%-21 vs state

1.0

2 ratings · 2 written reviews

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What people are saying

by a parent
Friday, February 14, 2020

Huntsville city schools are throwing to much at these kid's at such young ages and not enough free time all because they was failing at one point. My child is getting burnt out. Close Quote

by a teacher
Wednesday, February 1, 2012

I am a substitute teacher and have worked in several different schools in Huntsville. I have worked both in the inner city schools as well as the suburbs. In every school I have been in I have been able to find something good. This school is a mess. The teachers do not discipline at all (I am sure that there are some exceptions) leading the children to act like a pack of wild dogs. The kids fight (even girl against boy) constantly. The kids know that they will get away with anything and are full of hatred for the world, I really feel sorry for any child that had to go to this school. The principle walks around like he is a runway model and dose little or nothing. If you live in this area do everything you can to keep your kids out of this school. The place is like a prison. Close Quote

Schools Near James Dawson 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 (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
James Dawson Elementary	Public	PK, KG-6	5308 Mastin Lake Rd NW	Huntsville	35810	Madison County	Huntsville City	No	No	No	Yes	(256) 428-7500	447	26	17.0	70.7%	26 (5.8%)	311 (69.6%)	80 (17.9%)	3 (0.7%)	1 (0.2%)	4 (0.9%)	22 (4.9%)	18.8	565^th of 686 public elementary schools	17.6%		11.2	625^th of 680 public elementary schools	8.1%	60	24.6	25.6	19.6	7.0	41.0	33.3	46.2	50.0	27.3	$10,784	$2,478	$8,304
Academy For Academics Arts Elementary School	Public, Magnet	PK, KG-5	4800 Sparkman Drive NE	Huntsville	35810	Madison County	Huntsville City	No	Yes	No	No	(256) 428-7600	400	23	17.3	48.3%	95 (23.8%)	229 (57.3%)	27 (6.8%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	48 (12.0%)	36.7	454^th of 686 public elementary schools	33.8%		28.7	483^rd of 680 public elementary schools	29.0%	29	44.4	15.0	26.7		18.8	66.7	43.8	77.3		$10,574	$1,039	$9,535
Highlands Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	2500 Barney Terrace NW	Huntsville	35810	Madison County	Huntsville City	No	No	No	Yes	(256) 428-7200	370	22	17.0	72.2%	16 (4.3%)	261 (70.5%)	65 (17.6%)	7 (1.9%)	2 (0.5%)	1 (0.3%)	18 (4.9%)	8.1	658^th of 686 public elementary schools	4.1%		14.5	592^nd of 680 public elementary schools	12.9%	66	20.4	19.2	2.4	4.4	12.8	36.7	27.7	39.0	26.1	$10,057	$2,041	$8,016
Academy For Science Foreign Language	Public, Magnet	PK, KG-5	3221 Mastin Lake Rd	Huntsville	35810	Madison County	Huntsville City	No	Yes	No	No	(256) 428-7000	303	22	13.7	44.2%	55 (18.2%)	177 (58.4%)	35 (11.6%)	3 (1.0%)	3 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	30 (9.9%)	76.6	147^th of 686 public elementary schools	78.6%		69.7	196^th of 680 public elementary schools	71.2%	49	77.2	45.7	38.5		64.3	76.8	78.6	84.6		$9,962	$1,114	$8,847
Rolling Hills Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	2901 Hilltop Terrace NW	Huntsville	35810	Madison County	Huntsville City	No	No	No	Yes	(256) 428-7400	483	28	17.0	72.3%	20 (4.1%)	318 (65.8%)	114 (23.6%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.4%)	27 (5.6%)	18	572^nd of 686 public elementary schools	16.6%		17.4	564^th of 680 public elementary schools	17.1%	8	28.1	18.8	35.2	10.2	23.2	42.9	31.9	51.9	28.6	$10,037	$2,504	$7,532
Montview Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	2600 Garvin Rd NW	Huntsville	35810	Madison County	Huntsville City	No	No	No	Yes	(256) 428-7320	213	13	16.5	74.2%	7 (3.3%)	142 (66.7%)	41 (19.2%)	2 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	21 (9.9%)	21.3	541^st of 686 public elementary schools	21.1%		18	560^th of 680 public elementary schools	17.6%	19	16.7	34.6	9.4		38.5	33.3	53.9	42.4		$13,217	$3,064	$10,152
Lakewood Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	3501 Kenwood Dr NW	Huntsville	35810	Madison County	Huntsville City	No	No	No	Yes	(256) 428-7240	397	23	17.3	75.1%	22 (5.5%)	245 (61.7%)	105 (26.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	25 (6.3%)	14.3	597^th of 686 public elementary schools	13.0%		11.9	621^st of 680 public elementary schools	8.7%	24	7.7	31.7	6.7	8.7	36.7	36.5	45.8	26.7	21.3	$10,184	$2,205	$7,978
Providence Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	10 Chalkstone Street	Huntsville	35805	Madison County	Huntsville City	No	No	No	Yes	(256) 428-7125	1,152	54	21.3	59.2%	114 (9.9%)	812 (70.5%)	97 (8.4%)	12 (1.0%)	1 (0.1%)	8 (0.7%)	108 (9.4%)	20.3	553^rd of 686 public elementary schools	19.4%		22	528^th of 680 public elementary schools	22.4%	25	25.0	17.4	25.4		25.0	46.3	40.7	57.0		$7,858	$880	$6,977
Sonnie Hereford Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	2755 Wilson Drive	Huntsville	35816	Madison County	Huntsville City	No	No	No	Yes	(256) 428-7440	578	31	18.6	79.4%	36 (6.2%)	356 (61.6%)	120 (20.8%)	5 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.5%)	58 (10.0%)	8.6	652^nd of 686 public elementary schools	5.0%		10.9	630^th of 680 public elementary schools	7.4%	22	12.7	3.1	5.6	19.5	14.3	28.2	24.6	31.9	37.7	$9,093	$1,716	$7,376
Martin Luther King Junior Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	3112 Meridian St N	Huntsville	35811	Madison County	Huntsville City	No	No	No	Yes	(256) 428-7100	458	27	16.9	79.9%	37 (8.1%)	310 (67.7%)	77 (16.8%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	31 (6.8%)	4.7	682^nd of 686 public elementary schools	0.6%		6.8	668^th of 680 public elementary schools	1.8%	14	12.5	9.6	1.6		16.4	30.4	19.2	27.4		$9,541	$2,631	$6,909

Frequently Asked Questions about James Dawson Elementary

What is the racial makeup of James Dawson Elementary?

Students at James Dawson Elementary are 70% African American, 18% Hispanic, 6% White, 5% Two or more races.

What schools do graduates of James Dawson Elementary attend?

Students who attend James Dawson Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Ronald McNair 78
High : Jemison High School

Is James Dawson Elementary a good school?

James Dawson Elementary ranks in the bottom 17.6% of Alabama elementary schools.

What district is James Dawson Elementary in?

Huntsville City

How many students attend James Dawson Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 447 students attended James Dawson Elementary.

Rate James Dawson Elementary!

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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.