Summary:
Zip code 35111 is home to just one middle school, McAdory Middle School, which serves grades 6 through 8 and enrolls 841 students within the Jefferson County school district.
For parents considering this area, the most important takeaway is that McAdory Middle School shows a dramatic split between its English and math performance. In English/Language Arts, the school is a solid performer—7th grade proficiency (46.15%) actually edges out the district average (46.28%), and all three grade levels hover in the low-to-mid 40s. However, math proficiency is critically low and gets worse with each grade level: only 13.81% of 6th graders, 8.03% of 7th graders, and a startling 5.51% of 8th graders are proficient, compared to a state average of 26.36% for 8th grade. This represents a 20.85 percentage-point gap and suggests that learning gaps in math are compounding as students advance. The school's state ranking has also slipped over three years, from 318th to 346th out of roughly 440 schools, placing it in the bottom quarter of Alabama middle schools.
On a more positive note, chronic absenteeism (14.5%) is better than the district average (16.9%), meaning students are generally showing up to class. With 58.26% of students eligible for free or reduced lunch, the school serves a largely economically disadvantaged population, yet per-student spending ($8,010) and a student-teacher ratio of 17.3 are within normal ranges. This disconnect between resources and outcomes, especially in math, points to instructional strategies or intervention programs as the likely area needing attention rather than funding or attendance. For parents, this means the school offers a strong English foundation but requires serious supplemental math support, particularly for students entering 7th and 8th grade.
Thank you for your feedback!