Summary:
Zip code 36561, encompassing the Orange Beach, Alabama area, is home to just one high school, Orange Beach MiddleHigh School, which serves grades 7 through 12 with a total enrollment of 662 students.
For parents, this single school is an elite option that stands out dramatically on a statewide level. The Orange Beach City district is ranked #3 out of 139 districts in Alabama, earning a 5-star rating, and the school itself has climbed to #9 in the state, placing it in the top 2% of all high schools. The most impressive headline is its perfect 100% graduation rate, far exceeding the state average of 91.5%. Academically, the school excels in nearly every subject, with 8th grade science proficiency at an extraordinary 95.37% and 11th grade science at 70.18%, both roughly double the state averages. Upper-grade performance also showed remarkable year-over-year improvement, with 11th grade science jumping 18.78 points and English rising 15.06 points, indicating strong instructional momentum at the senior level.
However, there are a few areas of concern worth noting. The most glaring issue is a dramatic 36.57-point drop in 7th grade math proficiency, falling from 66.67% to just 30.10%, which is only slightly above the state average and breaks the otherwise logical progression where math scores improve by grade level (30.10% in 7th, 51.85% in 8th, and 57.02% in 11th). Additionally, while the school's chronic absenteeism rate of 11.6% is slightly better than the state average of 12.0%, it is notably higher than the district's own average of 8.2%, a puzzling discrepancy since the school and district are one and the same. With a low free/reduced lunch rate of 18.73% and a favorable 15:1 student-to-teacher ratio, this school benefits from a supportive environment, but the 7th grade math anomaly and absenteeism gap are the key areas parents should watch as the school continues its upward trajectory.
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