Summary:
The three schools in Russell County serve preschool through grade 12: Simpson Elementary serves PK–1, Bickerdyke Elementary serves grades 2–6, and Russell Junior-Senior High serves grades 7–12. Across the two schools with scores, the average was 32% in math versus 41% statewide, while science averaged 41% versus 38% statewide and ELA was essentially level at 46% for both. The clearest shared academic concern in the reported results is math.
Bickerdyke leads the schools with scores in all three subjects: 48% in ELA, 41% in math, and 47% in science, compared with 43%, 23%, and 34% at Russell Junior-Senior. Bickerdyke is 2 points above the state in ELA and 9 points above in science; its math result is just 0.4 points below the state. Russell Junior-Senior is 3 points below the state in ELA, 18 below in math, and 4 below in science. Attendance sets the schools apart too: chronic absenteeism is 29% at Russell Junior-Senior, 13% at Bickerdyke, and 7% at Simpson, against a state rate of 18%. Simpson has no supplied test scores, so its academic standing cannot be compared.
Science improved most from 2024–2025 to 2025–2026: scores rose 25 points at Russell Junior-Senior and 16 at Bickerdyke. ELA also rose, by 13 points and 6 points respectively, while math edged down 1 point at Russell Junior-Senior and rose 6 points at Bickerdyke. SchoolDigger’s statewide rankings improved between the endpoints shown: Bickerdyke moved from the 34th to the 44th percentile, and Russell Junior-Senior from the 15th to the 29th. Other school characteristics differ: student-teacher ratios are 10.1 at Russell Junior-Senior, 11.6 at Bickerdyke, and 13.5 at Simpson; free/reduced-lunch rates are 50%, 54%, and 49%, respectively. These figures describe the schools, but do not explain their results.
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