Summary:
Zip code 35463 (Fosters, Alabama) is home to just one elementary school, Myrtlewood Elementary School, which serves grades PK through 4 within the Tuscaloosa County school district.
For parents considering this area, Myrtlewood Elementary is a small school with 280 students and a favorable 14:1 student-teacher ratio. Its biggest academic strength is English Language Arts, where 4th graders achieve 69.23% proficiency—a full 10 points above the state average and 13 points above the district. The school also maintains a strong attendance culture, with chronic absenteeism at just 8.5%, notably better than the district (11.8%) and state (12.0%). However, the school's state ranking has declined steadily over three years, from the 68th percentile to the 51st percentile, even as some test scores improved. This suggests other schools across Alabama are improving at a faster pace. The school serves a moderately diverse economic population, with 46% of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch, yet it still outperforms its district in most subjects.
There are areas of concern. Science proficiency dropped sharply by 8.63 points year-over-year, falling to 42.31%—now below both district and state averages. Mathematics performance is inconsistent: 3rd grade math improved by 7.83 points, but 4th grade math declined by 6.79 points, leaving the school trailing state averages in both grades. Given the small cohort size, these year-to-year swings can be amplified by just a few students. Overall, Myrtlewood Elementary offers strong literacy instruction and a supportive, engaged environment, but families should be aware of the need for targeted support in science and upper-grade math to help reverse the downward ranking trend.
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