Summary:
Zip code 36274 is home to a single high school, Handley High School, which serves grades 9-12 in Roanoke, Alabama, within the Roanoke City school district.
For parents considering this area, Handley High School stands out for its exceptional graduation rate of 98.1%, which is well above the state average of 91.5%. The school also maintains a favorable student-teacher ratio of 13.3:1 and a chronic absenteeism rate of 8.7%, which is better than both the district (9.7%) and state (12.0%) averages. However, academic proficiency on standardized tests tells a more mixed story. In the most recent testing year, the school outperformed the state in English (38.03% proficient vs. 33.73% state average) but lagged behind in mathematics (25.68% vs. 27.21%) and significantly in science (28.77% vs. 36.17%). The science score also dropped sharply by 6.6 percentage points from the prior year, which is the largest single-year decline across all subjects. Notably, the 2024-2025 school year was a peak, with the school exceeding state averages in all three subjects, but the subsequent decline has contributed to a falling state ranking—from 80th to 140th over two years.
With 61.2% of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch, the school serves a predominantly low-income population, yet it maintains strong attendance and graduation outcomes. Per-student spending is $9,015, which suggests efficient use of resources, though the declining test scores may indicate that current funding levels are not enough to sustain academic competitiveness. Since Handley High School is the only high school in the Roanoke City district, all district-level metrics mirror the school's performance, meaning improvement efforts are directly aligned. Parents should weigh the school's clear strengths in graduation, attendance, and English instruction against the concerning downward trend in math and science proficiency when evaluating this area.
Thank you for your feedback!