Summary:
Albertville, Alabama (zip code 35950) is served by two public middle schools within the Albertville City district, together educating 1,692 students in grades 5 through 8. For parents, the key takeaway is that Albertville Intermediate School (grades 5-6) is the stronger academic performer, while Albertville Middle School (grades 7-8) faces more significant challenges, particularly in mathematics.
Academically, Albertville Intermediate School stands out for its English Language Arts proficiency, with 5th graders at 62.88% and 6th graders at 54.38%. It also posts the only subject-grade combination in the zip code that beats the state average: 6th-grade math at 39.05% proficiency versus the state's 35.22%. In contrast, Albertville Middle School shows a critical weakness in 8th-grade math, where only 15.66% of students are proficient, and its best subject is 8th-grade English at 50%. Combined math proficiency across both schools averages just 26.83%, well below the state's ~31%, while science proficiency in 8th grade is 39.56% versus the state's 54.12%. Both schools serve high-poverty populations, with free/reduced lunch rates around 67%, and chronic absenteeism (13.6%-14.1%) exceeds the state average of 12%.
One notable finding is the dramatic "middle school slide" in math: proficiency drops from 30.95% in 5th grade to 15.66% in 8th grade, a 49% decline. Additionally, Albertville Middle School spends $1,224 more per student ($8,100) than Albertville Intermediate School ($6,876), yet its outcomes are worse—a spending paradox worth investigating. The bright spot is 6th-grade math, which could serve as a model for other grades. With similar student-teacher ratios (19.7-20.0), parents should focus on year-over-year growth rather than absolute rankings, given the socioeconomic headwinds these schools face.
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