Summary:
Zip code 35221 in Birmingham, AL, is served by a single middle school, Jones Valley Middle School, which enrolls 465 students in grades 6-8 and is part of the Birmingham City school district.
For parents considering this area, Jones Valley Middle School presents a challenging academic picture. The school holds a 0-star rating and ranks in the bottom 5% of Alabama middle schools, with a percentile ranking that has declined from the 5th to the 2nd percentile over the past three years. The most critical concern is mathematics: proficiency rates are alarmingly low, with only 3.88% of 6th graders, 1.27% of 7th graders, and 0.78% of 8th graders meeting state standards—all far below the state averages of 35%, 24%, and 26% respectively. English Language Arts performance is comparatively stronger, with proficiency rates between 25% and 31% across grades, though still roughly 25-33 percentage points behind the state. Science proficiency for 8th graders stands at 17.05%, which is a notable improvement from just 2.07% the prior year, though it remains well below the state's 54% proficiency rate.
There are some positive signs worth noting. Chronic absenteeism is remarkably low at 5.1%, less than half the district rate of 13.1% and well below the state average of 12.0%, indicating that students are consistently attending school. Per-student spending of $11,995 is reasonable, suggesting resources are not the primary obstacle. However, with 85.81% of students qualifying for free/reduced lunch, the school serves a predominantly low-income population. The overall pattern shows a bifurcated academic profile: literacy and science are showing gradual improvement, while math achievement continues to deteriorate. This suggests that while the school is making some progress in certain subjects, the persistent and severe math deficits represent a critical area requiring immediate and targeted intervention to address what is clearly an educational crisis at this school.
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