Summary:
Zip code 35096 is home to a single middle school, Charles R Drew Middle School, which serves grades 6 through 8 in Lincoln, AL, and is part of the Talladega County school district.
For parents considering this area, Charles R Drew Middle School stands out as a high-performing school, particularly in English Language Arts. In the 2025-2026 school year, 7th and 8th graders achieved proficiency rates of 73.81% and 74.34% respectively, which are roughly 18-20 points above the state average. The school also excels in science, with 8th graders posting a 63.16% proficiency rate. Mathematics is the relative weak spot, especially in 8th grade where only 34.87% of students are proficient, though this still beats the district (22.38%) and state (26.36%) averages. The school has been steadily climbing in state rankings, moving from the 81st to the 85th percentile over the past three years and currently holds a 4-star rating. Notably, chronic absenteeism is remarkably low at just 6.8%, less than half the state average of 12%, which suggests strong student engagement and a positive school culture.
One of the most interesting findings is that despite 58.26% of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch, the school outperforms both its district and the state in nearly every subject and grade level. This suggests effective instructional strategies are overcoming challenges often linked to economic disadvantage. However, there is a clear gap between English and math achievement—in 8th grade, English proficiency is more than double math proficiency. Year-over-year data also shows some volatility, such as 6th-grade math dropping 5.43 points while 7th-grade math jumped 10.71 points, indicating inconsistent progress across grade-level cohorts. With a student-teacher ratio of 19.2:1 and per-student spending of $7,557 (from 2018-2019), the school appears to be delivering strong results, though more current funding data would help assess resource efficiency.
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