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L E Willson Elementary School

Public Grades 3-6
463rd
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 686 Alabama Elementary Schools
Better than 33% of Alabama elementary schools
Summary

L E Willson Elementary School in Sheffield, AL, serves 253 students in grades 3-6 as part of the Sheffield City district, with about 78% of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch. The school has shown promising signs of improvement this year, with its overall state ranking climbing from the 24th to the 32nd percentile, and even more dramatic gains for specific student groups.

One of the most exciting developments is in 6th grade math, where proficiency rates have more than doubled in a single year—from 19% to nearly 42%—now actually exceeding the state average. This is especially notable because math scores in grades 3-5 still lag behind state averages, suggesting a targeted strength in the upper grades. The school also demonstrates a consistent pattern where English proficiency significantly outperforms math, with 3rd grade reading scores (62%) coming close to the state average. Additionally, chronic absenteeism has dropped from 22.7% to 14.6% over the past few years, which is better than the district average of 18.6%. With a student-teacher ratio of 14.4:1, class sizes are smaller than many nearby schools, including Highland Park Elementary School (17.8:1) and McBride Elementary School (17.3:1).

While L E Willson faces challenges compared to some neighboring schools—for instance, R E Thompson Intermediate School in Tuscumbia ranks in the 64th percentile and serves a less impoverished population—the school is clearly on an upward trajectory. Improvements were seen across nearly every subgroup this year, including significant jumps for students in special education and those from low-income households. The school appears to be implementing strategies that are starting to work, and parents may find the recent momentum encouraging as the school continues to build on these gains.

253
Students ?
14.4
Student/teacher ratio ?
$10,053
Per pupil spending ?
78.3%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 2200 31st St
       Sheffield, AL  35660

(256) 386-5730

District: Sheffield City


Students who attend L E Willson Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:    Sheffield Junior High School
High:    Sheffield High School
Racial breakdown:

White:
45.8%
African American:
33.6%
Two or more races:
11.9%
more
 See top rated Alabama elementary schools

 Compare L E Willson Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 50th percentile in 2016 → 33rd in 2026
Worth a look
!Test scores below the Alabama average (41% vs 51% meeting standards)
!Ranking has slipped — down 17 percentile points since 2016
!Science scores 23 pts below the Alabama average
Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?
This school41%
District avg41%
Alabama avg51%
463rd of 686
Alabama public elementary schools ?
Bottom 33%▼ down 18 pts since 2016
From top 50% (2016) to bottom 33% (2026)
See the entire ranking list of Alabama Elementary Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
101st of 140Sheffield 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

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankAlabama percentileRating
202634.3463 of 68632.5%★★☆☆☆
202523.6516 of 68024.1%★☆☆☆☆
202425.3513 of 68425.0%★☆☆☆☆
202331.6475 of 68030.1%★★☆☆☆
202236.2438 of 68736.2%★★☆☆☆
202141.3408 of 69241.0%★★☆☆☆
201931.6474 of 68130.4%★★☆☆☆
201849.4375 of 68044.9%★★☆☆☆
201728.9503 of 68826.9%★☆☆☆☆
201649.9343 of 69150.4%★★★☆☆
201539.8423 of 69138.8%★★☆☆☆
201456.5294 of 69557.7%★★★☆☆
201359.0333 of 69652.2%★★★☆☆
201246.4460 of 69633.9%★★☆☆☆
201145.9473 of 70933.3%★★☆☆☆
201046.2455 of 70435.4%★★☆☆☆
200936.8522 of 69625.0%★☆☆☆☆
200838.9490 of 69829.8%★★☆☆☆
200732.1555 of 69820.5%★☆☆☆☆
200650.4364 of 68947.2%★★☆☆☆
200548.5383 of 68844.3%★★☆☆☆
200461.1233 of 62362.6%★★★☆☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankAlabama percentileRating
202631.9299 of 42830.1%★★☆☆☆
202519.4394 of 4277.7%☆☆☆☆☆
202434.3283 of 42032.6%★★☆☆☆
202347.7198 of 42753.6%★★★☆☆
202239.0238 of 42644.1%★★☆☆☆
202145.8201 of 42652.8%★★★☆☆
201934.9293 of 42631.2%★★☆☆☆
201858.7136 of 42367.8%★★★☆☆
201726.6272 of 33619.0%★☆☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankAlabama percentileRating
202639.4422 of 65135.2%★★☆☆☆
202527.2487 of 64925.0%★☆☆☆☆
202426.8489 of 65024.8%★☆☆☆☆
202334.3437 of 64532.2%★★☆☆☆
202240.9398 of 65639.3%★★☆☆☆
202139.2404 of 65638.4%★★☆☆☆
201927.1495 of 64623.4%★☆☆☆☆
201850.9336 of 64047.5%★★☆☆☆
201735.7434 of 63932.1%★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankAlabama percentileRating
202642.2405 of 66739.3%★★☆☆☆
202530.3478 of 66027.6%★☆☆☆☆
202434.1464 of 67030.7%★★☆☆☆
202336.3409 of 62334.3%★★☆☆☆
202242.5384 of 65141.0%★★☆☆☆
202142.9387 of 65340.7%★★☆☆☆
201938.4421 of 64935.1%★★☆☆☆
201859.0259 of 65160.2%★★★☆☆
201734.1407 of 56728.2%★☆☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankAlabama percentileRating
202630.6463 of 65929.7%★☆☆☆☆
202521.4516 of 65120.7%★☆☆☆☆
202425.8491 of 65525.0%★☆☆☆☆
202329.7466 of 64928.2%★☆☆☆☆
202232.7443 of 66933.8%★★☆☆☆
202142.6383 of 66942.8%★★☆☆☆
201938.0422 of 65035.1%★★☆☆☆
201849.2360 of 65044.6%★★☆☆☆
201723.4498 of 63922.1%★☆☆☆☆

Multi-racial

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankAlabama percentileRating
202628.4146 of 19324.4%★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankAlabama percentileRating
202627.8310 of 40323.1%★☆☆☆☆
202518.7369 of 4038.4%☆☆☆☆☆
202418.1361 of 3958.6%☆☆☆☆☆
202335.8247 of 37333.8%★★☆☆☆
202229.2262 of 34524.1%★☆☆☆☆
202140.6213 of 39846.5%★★☆☆☆
201919.1360 of 3928.2%☆☆☆☆☆
201823.0282 of 34418.0%★☆☆☆☆
201714.4261 of 2806.8%☆☆☆☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankAlabama percentileRating
202634.7346 of 50130.9%★★☆☆☆
202519.6473 of 53211.1%★☆☆☆☆
202416.4488 of 5358.8%☆☆☆☆☆
202322.2445 of 52815.7%★☆☆☆☆
202233.7378 of 54030.0%★★☆☆☆
202136.9342 of 53936.5%★★☆☆☆
201928.9416 of 52921.4%★☆☆☆☆
201840.7314 of 50838.2%★★☆☆☆
201723.4315 of 36914.6%★☆☆☆☆
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)
Low Socio Economic Status (2026)39th percentile+7 vs school
Female (2026)35th percentile+3 vs school
White (2026)31st percentile~ school
African American (2026)30th percentile~ school
Male (2026)30th percentile-3 vs school
Multi-racial (2026)24th percentile-8 vs school
Special Education (2026)23rd percentile-9 vs school
By subject vs Alabama (2025-2026) ?
English52%-11 vs state
Mathematics32%-8 vs state
Science27%-23 vs state

★
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Frequently Asked Questions about L E Willson Elementary School

In the 2024-25 school year, 253 students attended L E Willson Elementary School.

L E Willson Elementary School ranks 463rd of 686 Alabama elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Students at L E Willson Elementary School are 46% White, 34% African American, 12% Two or more races, 8% Hispanic.

Students who attend L E Willson Elementary School usually go on to attend:

Middle : Sheffield Junior High School
High : Sheffield High 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.

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