Summary:
Zip code 35802 in Huntsville, AL is served by a single middle school, Whitesburg Middle School, which enrolls 535 students in grades 6-8 within the Huntsville City district.
For parents considering this area, the most important takeaway is that Whitesburg Middle School faces significant academic challenges, particularly in mathematics. Only about 9-11% of students are proficient in math across all grade levels, which is roughly one-third to one-quarter of the state average. English proficiency is notably stronger, with 32-40% of students meeting standards, though this still trails district and state averages by 20-24 percentage points. The school's 8th grade science proficiency (33.92%) represents its relative strength, but remains about 20 points below state levels. The school's state ranking has declined steadily over three years, from the 29th percentile to the 17th percentile, indicating it is falling further behind other Alabama middle schools.
Several factors provide context for these results. The school serves a predominantly economically disadvantaged population, with 57.94% of students receiving free/reduced lunch. Chronic absenteeism (10.4%) is actually below the state average of 12.0%, suggesting attendance is not the primary driver of low scores. The student-teacher ratio is 18.4:1 with per-student spending of $8,356. A concerning trend is the sharp decline in 6th grade math proficiency, which dropped from 16.57% to 10.92% year-over-year, while 7th and 8th grade math showed modest improvements. The achievement gap between this school and its district is substantial across all subjects, indicating school-specific challenges beyond socioeconomic factors. Parents should be aware that while the school demonstrates relative strength in English and science, the critically low math scores and declining ranking suggest targeted academic interventions and additional resources may be needed to improve outcomes.
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