Summary:
Zip code 36303 in Dothan, Alabama, is served by a single high school, Dothan High School, which enrolls 1,588 students in grades 10-12 within the Dothan City school district.
As the only high school in this zip code, Dothan High School is a large institution that serves as the central educational hub for the area. The most pressing concern for parents is the school's significant drop in state ranking, falling from 155th to 239th out of 380 schools in a single year. Academic proficiency on the 11th-grade summative assessment trails state averages across all subjects, with the widest gaps in science (23.18% proficient vs. 36.17% statewide) and mathematics (16.67% vs. 27.21%). Science scores saw the sharpest single-year decline, dropping nearly 8 percentage points. The school also reports a chronic absenteeism rate of 13.5%, slightly above the state's 12.0% average.
Despite these academic challenges, there are notable positives. Dothan High School maintains a strong 94.3% graduation rate, exceeding the state average of 91.5%, which suggests the school is effective at helping students complete their diplomas even if standardized test performance lags. With 61.46% of students qualifying for free/reduced lunch, the school serves a predominantly economically disadvantaged population, providing important context for interpreting test scores. Interestingly, the school's performance is slightly above the Dothan City district averages in all subjects, even though the district itself ranks in the bottom quarter of Alabama districts. Parents should consider the school's supportive graduation environment alongside its academic struggles, and may want to inquire about targeted support in math and science instruction as well as efforts to address chronic absenteeism.
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