Summary:
There are two middle schools serving the 35603 zip code in Alabama—Austin Middle School and Priceville Junior High School—which together cover grades 5 through 8 and represent two different districts: Decatur City and Morgan County.
Priceville Junior High is the standout school in this area by a wide margin. It holds a 5-star rating and ranks in the 92nd percentile statewide, while Austin Middle earns just 2 stars and sits in the 41st percentile. Priceville’s academic results are consistently strong—for example, 72% of its 8th graders are proficient in math compared to a 26% state average, and its 7th grade English proficiency rate (78%) far exceeds both Austin Middle (49%) and the state (55%). Priceville also has a very low chronic absenteeism rate of 2.5%, versus 5.3% at Austin and 12% statewide. Austin Middle serves a larger student body (727 students in grades 6-7) with a higher share of students on free/reduced lunch (65% vs. 39% at Priceville), which may help explain some of the performance gap.
Interestingly, Austin Middle actually spends more per student ($10,392 vs. $7,526) and has a better student-teacher ratio (14.7 vs. 18.5) than Priceville, yet its outcomes are significantly lower. This suggests that factors like curriculum, school culture, and teaching quality matter more than raw funding or class size. Priceville’s excellence has also been stable for three straight years, while Austin’s ranking has fluctuated. For parents in 35603, Priceville Junior High is clearly the top choice academically, but Austin Middle may offer more individualized attention and serves a more economically diverse population.
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