Summary:
Zip code 36505 in Axis, Alabama, is served by a single school, North Mobile County Middle School, which despite its name, is an elementary school serving grades PK through 8th grade with 422 students in the Mobile County district.
This school presents a clear "bifurcated" academic profile. The strongest performance occurs in the early elementary grades, particularly in 3rd and 5th grade, where math proficiency exceeds both district and state averages. For example, 5th graders hit 50% proficiency in math (nearly 16 points above the district) and 63.64% in English. However, there is a dramatic "middle school cliff" in mathematics. Proficiency plummets from 50% in 5th grade to just 20.93% in 6th grade, and further to 10.26% in 7th grade—a far steeper decline than the district or state trends. English Language Arts also dips in middle school, though 8th grade shows a rebound to 59.46% proficiency, slightly above the state average. Science follows a similar pattern, with 4th grade lagging significantly (33.33% vs. 45.84% district) but 8th grade nearly reaching parity (48.65% vs. 51.52% district).
With nearly 74% of students qualifying for free/reduced lunch, this is a high-poverty school, yet it manages to exceed district averages in several early-grade subjects, suggesting effective early intervention. Chronic absenteeism (12.9%) is only slightly above state averages. The school's state ranking has slipped from the 49th to the 38th percentile over two years, and year-over-year test scores show significant volatility, likely due to small cohort sizes. For parents, the key takeaway is that the school excels in early elementary education but struggles with the transition to middle school math, which may warrant attention and targeted support for students entering 6th grade.
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