Summary:
Zip code 35904 is home to just one high school, Gadsden City High School, which serves grades 9 through 12 and enrolls roughly 1,361 students in the Gadsden, Alabama area.
As the only high school in this zip code, Gadsden City High School is the sole focus for parents exploring this area. The school operates within the Gadsden City district, which is ranked 91st out of 139 districts in Alabama. The school itself holds a 2-star rating and ranks in the 36th percentile statewide. Academically, the school trails state averages across all subjects on the 11th-grade summative assessment. For the 2025-2026 school year, math proficiency was 17.97% versus the state's 27.21%, science proficiency was 27.89% versus 36.17%, and English proficiency was 22.06% versus 33.73%. On a positive note, the school showed meaningful year-over-year improvement, especially in science, which jumped from 17.81% to 27.89% proficiency. Math and English also improved, suggesting recent interventions may be gaining traction.
However, significant challenges remain. The graduation rate of 83.3% is well below the state average of 91.5%, meaning roughly one in six students does not graduate on time. Chronic absenteeism is a major concern, with 20.7% of students chronically absent—nearly double the state rate of 12.0%. The school also serves a predominantly economically disadvantaged population, with 68.92% of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch. Despite the academic gains, the school's state ranking has remained flat, indicating that other schools across Alabama are improving at a similar pace. For parents, this means Gadsden City High School offers a large, resource-challenged environment with promising signs of improvement, but attendance and graduation rates are areas that need focused attention to help all students succeed.
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