Summary:
Zip code 35654 in Alabama is home to just one public high school, Tharptown High School, which serves grades 7 through 12 and enrolls 410 students in the Russellville area.
As the only high school in this zip code, Tharptown’s performance defines the educational landscape here, and the data shows a school facing significant academic hurdles. The school consistently scores below both the Franklin County district and Alabama state averages in nearly every subject and grade level. For example, only 5.8% of 8th graders were proficient in math in 2025-2026, compared to 26.36% statewide, and 11th-grade English proficiency was just 11.94% versus the state’s 33.73%. The graduation rate of 87.3% also trails the district (91.0%) and state (91.5%) figures. With 62.93% of students eligible for free or reduced lunch, the school serves a predominantly low-income population, and chronic absenteeism (13.3%) is slightly above the state average (12.0%).
There are a few notable bright spots and patterns worth understanding. Eighth-grade English stands out as a relative strength, with 42.65% proficiency in 2025-2026—much closer to the state average of 58.53% and over three times higher than the school’s own 11th-grade English scores. This suggests a middle-school strength that fades by high school. The school’s state ranking has also been highly volatile, swinging from the 36th percentile in 2023-2024 to the 6th percentile in 2024-2025, then recovering to the 21st percentile in 2025-2026. This instability, combined with a student-teacher ratio of 17:1 and per-student spending of $9,124, points to a school where targeted support in high school math and English, along with efforts to improve attendance, could make a meaningful difference for its students.
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