Summary:
Zip code 36323 is home to just one high school, Elba High School, a small institution serving grades 7 through 12 with 224 students in the Elba City district.
For parents considering this area, Elba High School is a school showing real momentum despite significant hurdles. The most encouraging news is its dramatic improvement in statewide rankings, climbing from the bottom 7% in 2023-2024 to the 27th percentile in 2025-2026—a 20-point jump in just two years. The school also boasts a favorable 13.1:1 student-teacher ratio, which means more individualized attention. However, there are serious concerns to weigh. Chronic absenteeism sits at 26.1%, more than double the state average of 12.0%, and this likely contributes to academic struggles. Math proficiency is critically low across all grades, hovering between 9.76% and 14.29%—roughly half the state average. Perhaps the most striking pattern is the sharp decline in English proficiency between 8th and 11th grade, dropping from 53.66% to just 11.43% in the most recent year, suggesting a difficult transition to high school-level expectations.
On a positive note, 11th-grade science scores improved dramatically from 8.7% to 27.03% year-over-year, and 8th-grade science proficiency (46.34%) approaches the state average. The school serves a high-poverty population, with 68.75% of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch, and per-student spending of $12,527 may be stretched thin. The graduation rate of 89.1% is slightly below the state's 91.5%. Overall, Elba High School is on an upward trajectory, but parents should be aware of the attendance challenges and the significant academic gaps that remain, particularly in math and upper-level English.
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