Schools in Zip Code 35481

Zip code 35481 in Reform, Alabama, is served by two public schools within the Pickens County School District, which together cover grades PK through 12 and enroll roughly 439 students in a high-poverty area where over three-quarters of students qualify for free or reduced lunch.

Pickens County High School is the standout performer in this area, showing a dramatic turnaround between the 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 school years. Its state ranking jumped from 297th to 134th, moving from a 1-star to a 3-star rating, with broad-based gains across math, science, and English in both 8th and 11th grades. The school also boasts an impressive 97.4% graduation rate, well above the district (92.6%) and state (91.5%) averages. However, this progress masks a critical weakness: 6th-grade math proficiency was 0% and 7th-grade math was just 3.85% in 2025-2026, a red flag for future cohorts. Chronic absenteeism at 15.7% is also higher than the district (10.1%) and state (12.0%) averages, though it hasn't prevented the school's recent academic gains.

In contrast, Reform Elementary School has excellent attendance—its 5.4% chronic absenteeism rate is less than half the district rate—but struggles academically. Its state ranking sits at 468th (32nd percentile, 2 stars), and math and science proficiency for 3rd and 4th graders dropped significantly from 2024-2025 to 2025-2026, even as English scores stayed stable. The two schools present a clear trade-off for parents: the high school is on an upward trajectory with strong graduation outcomes, while the elementary school has better attendance but weaker test performance. Both schools serve similarly high-needs populations, making the high school's recent turnaround particularly notable, but the middle school math gaps at PCHS and the elementary school's declining scores suggest that families should monitor progress closely at both grade levels.