Summary:
Zip code 35546, encompassing the Northport, Alabama area, is home to a single middle school, Northside Middle School, which serves grades 6 through 8 with an enrollment of 394 students.
Northside Middle School stands out as a clear academic leader in English Language Arts, consistently outperforming both its district, Tuscaloosa County, and the state average across all grade levels. For the 2025-2026 school year, 6th-grade English proficiency reached an impressive 71.43%, while 8th-grade proficiency was 54.4%. However, the school shows a notable weakness in mathematics, where proficiency rates are significantly lower, ranging from 23.58% in 7th grade to 30.36% in 6th grade. While these math scores still beat the district average, they fall slightly below the state average in 6th and 7th grades. The school also struggles in 8th-grade science, with a 43.2% proficiency rate that matches the district but trails the state's 54.12%.
One of the most encouraging findings is the school's exceptionally low chronic absenteeism rate of just 5.5%, which is less than half of both the district (11.8%) and state (12.0%) averages. This strong attendance likely contributes to the school's academic successes. The data also reveals a consistent "6th-grade peak" pattern, where 6th graders achieve the highest proficiency in both math and English across both school years, suggesting a strong elementary foundation. With 27.41% of students eligible for free or reduced lunch, the school serves a moderately diverse economic population. Despite its district ranking in the bottom half of Alabama, Northside Middle School consistently outperforms district averages in nearly every subject, positioning itself as a relative bright spot within the Tuscaloosa County system. Its state ranking has fluctuated, peaking at 149th in 2023-2024 and currently sitting at 164th (63rd percentile) for 2025-2026.
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