Summary:
Zip code 35203 in Birmingham, Alabama is home to just one school, Phillips Academy, a PK-8 elementary school serving 609 students within the Birmingham City district.
Phillips Academy is a standout performer within its district, consistently outpacing the Birmingham City averages by wide margins. For example, 7th grade math proficiency is 72%, compared to just 11% district-wide, and 8th grade science proficiency is 78% versus 29% for the district. The school’s greatest strength is English Language Arts, where proficiency rates in 7th and 8th grade (96% and 86%, respectively) exceed state averages by over 30 points. A unique pattern emerges in math: performance actually improves as students advance, climbing from 30% proficiency in 3rd grade to 72% in 7th grade—the opposite of typical school trends. This suggests the school is highly effective at developing skills over time. However, math scores have shown significant year-over-year volatility, with some grades dropping by 20+ points, which may explain the school’s declining state ranking (from 76th to 65th percentile over two years) despite strong absolute performance.
Operationally, the school has a student-teacher ratio of 18.4:1 and per-student spending of $10,154. Despite 56% of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch, chronic absenteeism is remarkably low at just 3.2%, compared to 13.1% for the district—a sign of strong family engagement and school culture. Science instruction is inconsistent, with 8th grade excelling (78%) while 4th grade lags behind the state average (34% vs. 50%). Overall, Phillips Academy is an island of excellence within a struggling district, offering a rigorous academic environment that defies expectations, particularly in upper grades.
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