ClarkShaw Magnet School

ClarkShaw Magnet School in Mobile, AL, is a public magnet middle school serving 582 students in grades 6 through 9, and it stands out as one of the highest-performing schools in the state, ranking 15th out of 443 Alabama middle schools with a 5-star rating.

For parents, the most striking takeaway is the sheer consistency of academic excellence. In English, proficiency rates range from 84.8% to 90.6% across grade levels—roughly 30 to 40 percentage points higher than the Mobile County district average. Even in 8th-grade math, the school's lowest subject, proficiency sits at 40.77%, nearly double the district's 22.21%. Science proficiency is equally impressive at 88.46%. What makes this even more remarkable is that the school achieves these results with about half of its students qualifying for free or reduced lunch, and it ranks in the top 2% statewide for every student subgroup, including low-income, African American, and White students. Chronic absenteeism is just 2.7%, compared to 12.8% district-wide, signaling a highly engaged student body.

The contrast with nearby schools is stark. Just 2.45 miles away, CL Scarborough Model Middle School ranks in the 19th percentile, while Burns Middle School sits in the 14th. Even Phillips Preparatory Middle School, the closest high-performing magnet just 4 miles away, only edges out ClarkShaw by a few points in 8th-grade subjects. Notably, ClarkShaw spends less per student ($8,607) than many struggling neighbors like Mobile County Training Middle School ($16,619), proving that its success comes from instructional quality and school culture, not funding. The school's unique 9th-grade program also lets students earn high school credits early—a strategic advantage worth exploring.