Summary:
Zip code 35068 in Fultondale, AL, is served by a single elementary school, Fultondale Elementary School, which enrolls 889 students in grades PK through 5 as part of the Jefferson County school district.
For parents considering this area, Fultondale Elementary is a large school facing significant academic challenges, particularly in mathematics. In the most recent testing, math proficiency rates were strikingly low, ranging from just 12.5% in 5th grade to 21.6% in 3rd grade, compared to state averages near 40%. English performance is a relative strength, with 5th graders achieving 54.4% proficiency, though this still trails the state average of 69.5%. The school has shown notable volatility year-to-year, with 3rd-grade English jumping 11.4 points and 5th-grade English rising 11.3 points, while 4th-grade scores dropped in both subjects. This inconsistency suggests instructional quality may vary by grade level and cohort. The school serves a predominantly low-income population, with 65% of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch, and its state ranking has slipped from 512th to 587th out of roughly 680 schools over the past three years.
Despite these academic hurdles, there are positive signs. The school's chronic absenteeism rate of 9.3% is notably better than both the district (16.9%) and state (12.0%) averages, indicating strong family engagement around attendance. The student-teacher ratio of 20.4:1 is slightly high, and per-student spending of $10,126 is modest. The clear downward trend in math as students advance—from 21.6% in 3rd grade to 12.5% in 5th—points to a need for early intervention in grades K-2. However, the strong gains in English demonstrate that improvement is achievable, and with targeted math support and more consistent instruction across grade levels, this school has the potential to close some of the substantial gaps with state averages.
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