Summary:
Middle Schools in zip code 35085 (Jemison, AL) serve grades 4 through 8 across two schools within the Chilton County district, which is ranked 96th out of 139 districts in Alabama.
For parents, the most important takeaway is that Jemison Intermediate School (grades 4-6) is the larger school with 468 students, and it shows a clear strength in English Language Arts, particularly in 5th grade where 62.26% of students are proficient—nearly matching the state average of 69.53%. However, this school has a high student-teacher ratio of 23.4:1, meaning larger class sizes. In contrast, Jemison Middle School (grades 7-8) has a much lower student-teacher ratio of 16.4:1 and spends more per student ($7,919 vs. $7,068), but it struggles significantly in mathematics—only 7.93% of 7th graders are proficient in math, which is roughly one-third of the state average. Both schools serve high poverty populations, with 67-72% of students eligible for free or reduced lunch, yet both have chronic absenteeism rates (8.1% and 9.4%) that are better than the state average of 12%.
The most striking finding is the dramatic academic drop-off between the two schools. The lowest ELA score at the Intermediate School (39.16% in 4th grade) is comparable to the highest ELA score at the Middle School (43.06% in 8th grade), suggesting the transition to 7th grade is challenging. There is also a stark contrast between subjects—while ELA scores are within a reasonable range of state averages, math scores are critically low across all grades. Encouragingly, Jemison Middle School is showing positive momentum, with its state ranking improving from the 22nd to 25th percentile and significant year-over-year gains in 8th-grade math (from 11.73% to 20.14%) and science (from 19.75% to 33.33%). The 5th-grade ELA score at Jemison Intermediate School is a clear outlier, 23 points higher than 4th grade, suggesting an effective teacher or program that could serve as a model for other grades.
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