Summary:
Zip code 35810 in Huntsville, AL, is served by a single public high school, Jemison High School, which enrolls 858 students in grades 9-12 within the Huntsville City district.
For parents, the most striking feature of Jemison is its "graduation vs. proficiency" paradox. The school posts an excellent 96% graduation rate (2024-2025), beating both the district (94.5%) and state (91.5%), and its chronic absenteeism rate of 6.9% is less than half the state average of 12%. However, academic proficiency on state tests is critically low. In 2025-2026, only 14.58% of students were proficient in math, 19.27% in science, and 21.28% in English—all roughly half or less than the district averages (e.g., 46.49% in English). This suggests the school is very effective at keeping students engaged and on track to graduate, but the level of academic mastery reflected in state assessments is a serious concern.
There is also a dramatic recent turnaround worth noting. Jemison's state ranking plunged to the 8th percentile in 2024-2025, then rebounded to the 28th percentile in 2025-2026. Proficiency rates improved 3-4x in a single year (e.g., math went from 4.09% to 14.58%). While still below state averages, this swing is unusual and could indicate a major instructional shift or a change in testing cohorts. With 69.46% of students eligible for free/reduced lunch, the school operates in a high-poverty context, and the achievement gap versus the district is severe. The student-teacher ratio is 19.4, and per-student spending is $11,834 (2018-2019 data), so resources are not obviously deficient. Parents should weigh the strong graduation and attendance outcomes against the low test scores and consider asking the school about its recent improvement strategies.
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