Summary:
Zip code 35959 is home to a single school, Cedar Bluff High School, a PK-12 institution in the rural community of Cedar Bluff, AL, serving 623 students within the Cherokee County district.
For parents, the most striking feature of Cedar Bluff High School is its perfect 100% graduation rate, which outpaces both the district (96.4%) and state (91.5%). The school also shows genuine academic strengths in the elementary grades, particularly in English, where 3rd through 5th grade proficiency ranges from 70-75%, and in 8th grade science, where an impressive 85.29% proficiency rate far exceeds the state average of 54.12%. However, this early success does not carry through to high school. By 11th grade, proficiency drops dramatically to just 10% in math, 13.33% in science, and 23.33% in English—all well below state averages. This disconnect between a perfect graduation rate and low upper-grade test scores suggests that while students are completing requirements, they may not be achieving deep academic mastery. Additionally, the school struggles with chronic absenteeism at 19.7%, which is 64% higher than the state average and likely contributes to the learning gaps seen in later grades.
Year-over-year data reveals significant volatility, with 7th grade math plummeting from 45.16% to 15% while 8th grade science soared from 53.85% to 85.29%. This instability, combined with a clear "middle school slump" in math (dropping from 50% in 4th grade to 15% in 7th grade), points to potential curriculum alignment issues or inconsistent instructional approaches. With a student-teacher ratio of 16.7:1 and per-student spending of $10,715, the school has reasonable resources, but the data suggests that targeted investments in attendance initiatives and secondary-level academic support could help bridge the gap between its strong elementary performance and its concerning high school outcomes.
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