Summary:
Zip code 36264 in Heflin, Alabama is served by two elementary schools within the Cleburne County district, which holds a 4-star rating and ranks in the top quarter of Alabama districts.
Pleasant Grove Elementary School is the standout success story in this area. Over the past two years, it has climbed from a 2-star to a 4-star rating, jumping from 442nd to 174th in the state rankings. This improvement is particularly impressive given that the school serves a higher percentage of economically disadvantaged students (54.85%) and spends about $1,700 less per student than its counterpart. Pleasant Grove excels in 4th-grade science (70.37% proficient, well above the 50.23% state average) and 5th-grade English (82.35%). However, the school faces a notable challenge in 6th-grade math, where only 26.92% of students are proficient—nearly 20 points below the district average. In contrast, Cleburne County Elementary School demonstrates exceptional early-grade performance, with 3rd-grade English proficiency at 85.07% and math at 66.18%, both far exceeding state averages. Yet the school experiences a dramatic "4th-grade slump," with math proficiency dropping 30 points to 36.23% and English falling to 56.52%—both below state averages. This consistent decline across two years suggests a potential curriculum transition issue at the 4th-grade level.
Both schools maintain chronic absenteeism rates below 10%, outperforming the state average of 12%, and share a strength in early literacy instruction. The most striking contrast between the two schools is in 4th-grade science, where Pleasant Grove (70.37%) outperforms Cleburne County (46.38%) by nearly 24 points despite being in the same district. Pleasant Grove's ability to achieve strong results with fewer resources and greater economic challenges suggests its improvement strategies may be particularly effective and worth studying for replication. For parents, this area offers two solid school choices with different strengths: Cleburne County for exceptional early-grade foundations, and Pleasant Grove for consistent upper-elementary performance and remarkable recent improvement.
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