Summary:
Zip code 36575 is home to just one middle school, Semmes Middle School, which serves grades 6 through 8 and enrolls 1,181 students in the Mobile County district.
For parents considering this area, Semmes Middle School shows a mixed academic profile with some clear bright spots and some areas needing attention. The school’s strongest subject is 8th-grade science, where 56.85% of students are proficient—beating both the district (51.52%) and state (54.12%) averages. Eighth-grade English is also a standout, with 60.97% proficiency, surpassing the district and state, and showing a big jump from the prior year’s 51.98%. However, math is a significant weakness across all grades, with 7th-grade math proficiency at just 18.44%, well below the state average of 24.46%. The school’s overall state ranking improved to 237th out of about 440 schools, placing it in the 47th percentile, up from the 40th percentile the year before.
Beyond test scores, there are important factors to weigh. The school has a chronic absenteeism rate of 18.2%, which is 50% higher than the state average of 12.0%—a red flag that can impact learning. About 63% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch, and the student-teacher ratio is 18.7. Per-student spending is $7,927. One interesting pattern is the “8th-grade spike” in English, where 8th graders outperform 6th and 7th graders by over 10 points, suggesting a strong 8th-grade team or a cumulative benefit of earlier instruction. However, year-to-year scores are volatile, indicating performance is sensitive to each cohort. Overall, Semmes Middle School excels in science and 8th-grade English, but math proficiency and absenteeism are key challenges for parents to monitor.
Thank you for your feedback!