Summary:
In zip code 35960, there is exactly one middle school, Centre Middle School, serving grades 5 through 8 with 450 students in the Cherokee County area of Alabama.
Centre Middle School is a standout performer in several key areas, particularly in Science and English Language Arts. The school's 8th-grade Science proficiency rate of 68.97% is nearly 15 percentage points above the state average, and its English scores consistently beat both the district and state across all grade levels. The school has also shown a positive trajectory in its state ranking, improving from the 65th percentile in 2023-2024 to the 71st percentile in 2025-2026. However, the most striking finding is the significant gap in Mathematics proficiency. While the school excels in other subjects, math scores are well below state averages in every grade level, with 5th-grade math proficiency at just 21.74% compared to 39.06% statewide. This suggests a clear area for targeted improvement. Additionally, the school faces challenges with chronic absenteeism at 19.1%, which is notably higher than the state average of 12.0%, and 56% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch.
Despite these challenges, Centre Middle School manages to outperform its Cherokee County district in nearly every subject and grade level. The school also shows significant year-over-year volatility in math scores, with 5th-grade proficiency dropping dramatically from 54.24% to 21.74%, which may reflect changes in student cohorts. For parents, this school offers strong instruction in reading and science, but the math performance and high absenteeism rates are important factors to consider when evaluating the school's overall effectiveness.
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