Summary:
Zip code 35085 in Jemison, Alabama, is served by four public schools within the Chilton County district, educating roughly 2,250 students from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade in a predominantly lower-income community.
For parents, the standout institution is Jemison High School, which posts a 92% graduation rate that beats both the district and state averages, and has shown significant improvement in its state ranking over the past two years. In contrast, Jemison Elementary School was historically a top performer, reaching the 70th percentile in 2014-2015, but has since declined, with current 3rd grade math proficiency at just 31.3%—well below the district's 39.2%. The middle grades present the biggest concern: Jemison Intermediate School and Jemison Middle School both show a dramatic "middle school slide" in math, with 7th grade proficiency plummeting to just 7.9%—a 74% drop from 3rd grade levels. English proficiency consistently outpaces math across every grade, with the widest gap at 5th grade where 62.3% of students are proficient in English but only 13.8% in math.
Despite high poverty rates (65-72% free/reduced lunch), chronic absenteeism is a relative strength, with all schools below the state average of 12%. However, resource allocation is uneven: the two middle schools receive significantly less per-student funding ($7,068 and $7,919) than the elementary ($9,287) and high school ($9,182), which is concerning given the steep academic decline at those grade levels. While 11th grade test scores remain below state averages, the high school's improving science proficiency (31.1%) and consistent year-over-year gains in English suggest that students who persist to graduation are finding success, making Jemison High School the clear bright spot in an otherwise challenging academic landscape.
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