Summary:
Zip code 36320 is home to a single elementary school, Cottonwood Elementary School, which serves grades PK-6 within the Houston County district.
For parents considering this area, Cottonwood Elementary School is a strong, well-rounded option that consistently outperforms state averages despite serving a student body where over 60% qualify for free or reduced lunch. The school holds a 4-star rating and ranks in the 75th percentile statewide (170th out of 686 Alabama elementary schools). Its greatest academic strength is English Language Arts, with 3rd-grade reading proficiency at an impressive 85.71%—21 points above the state average and 7 points above the already high-performing district average. All grade levels in English exceed state benchmarks by 6.7 to 21 percentage points. However, math proficiency tells a different story: scores decline sharply from 64.91% in 3rd grade to just 38.33% in 5th grade, which falls slightly below the state average of 39.06%. This "math slide" in upper elementary grades is a key area for parents to monitor, especially since 6th grade shows a partial recovery to 50%.
One of the school's most remarkable features is its exceptionally low chronic absenteeism rate of just 4.9%—less than half the state average of 12.0% and better than the district's 5.3%. This high attendance likely contributes directly to academic success. The student-teacher ratio is 16.7:1, allowing for meaningful classroom attention. Science proficiency in 4th grade is also solid at 55.7%, beating the state by 5.5 points. A notable year-over-year improvement occurred in 6th-grade English, which jumped from 42.37% to 63.46% proficiency—a 21-point gain that suggests either a strong cohort or effective targeted interventions. Overall, Cottonwood Elementary School is a high-performing, community-focused school that excels in literacy and attendance, though families should be aware of the math proficiency decline in the middle grades.
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