Summary:
Zip code 36203 in Oxford, Alabama, is served by a single high school, Oxford High School, which enrolls 1,242 students in grades 9-12 within the Oxford City school district.
As the only high school in this area, Oxford High School offers a comprehensive picture of local education. The school maintains a strong graduation rate of 93.7%, exceeding the state average of 91.5%, and demonstrates a clear strength in English proficiency, outperforming the state by roughly 3 percentage points in the most recent testing year. However, the school has seen a notable decline in its state ranking, falling from 76th place in 2023-2024 to 135th in 2025-2026. This drop appears driven by academic performance, particularly in mathematics, where proficiency rates (23.27%) consistently trail the state average (27.21%). Science scores also slipped significantly, dropping from 41.05% proficiency to 33.02% in just one year, falling below the state average. With a student-teacher ratio of 15.3:1, class sizes are reasonable, and the school serves a predominantly low-income population, with 52.66% of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch.
One of the most pressing concerns for parents is the school's chronic absenteeism rate of 18.0%, which is 50% higher than the state average of 12.0% and notably above the district's own 14.2%. This elevated absenteeism likely contributes to the declining test scores and is an area needing immediate attention. Despite these challenges, Oxford High School deserves credit for maintaining above-average graduation rates while serving a high-needs student body. The school's per-student spending of $11,859 (2018-2019 data) provides a baseline for resource allocation, though current comparisons are unavailable. For parents, the key takeaway is that this school excels in keeping students on track to graduate and in English instruction, but families should be aware of the math proficiency gap and the absenteeism issue when evaluating the school's overall performance.
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