Summary:
Zip code 36801 is home to just one high school, Opelika High School, a large public school serving grades 9-12 with 1,590 students in the Opelika City district.
For parents, the most important takeaway is that Opelika High School is a solid, mid-tier performer showing real momentum. The school has consistently earned a 3-star rating from the state, ranking 137th out of 380 Alabama high schools in the most recent year, up from 151st the year before. Test scores improved across every subject between 2024-2025 and 2025-2026, with English proficiency jumping 5.5 points to 34.8% (now above the state average), math rising to 27.3% (also above state average), and science improving to 30.4%—though science still trails the state by about 6 points and remains the school's biggest academic gap. The graduation rate of 91.2% is essentially tied with the state average of 91.5%, which is impressive given that 63% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch. The student-teacher ratio is a reasonable 16.9:1, and per-student spending is about $11,942.
The biggest concern is chronic absenteeism. At 20%, it's dramatically higher than both the district (13.7%) and state (12.0%) averages—a red flag since missing school is strongly linked to lower achievement. The school's ranking has also been volatile, swinging from 117th to 151st to 137th over three years, suggesting performance can vary with each cohort. Because this is the only high school in the district, all district-level metrics mirror the school's numbers exactly. Overall, Opelika High School is a large, improving school that does a good job graduating students despite economic challenges, but parents should be aware of the attendance issue and the need for stronger science instruction.
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