Summary:
ZIP code 40217 has two elementary schools in Jefferson County, and both serve kindergarten through fifth grade: Audubon Traditional Elementary enrolls 610 students, while Shelby Academy enrolls 290. Their reported 2025–2026 results show a sharp difference in achievement: Audubon scored higher than Shelby in every subject-and-grade comparison where both had a reported score.
Audubon stands out at the top: it was above the state in all 10 reported results, by 1 to 27 points. Its lead over Shelby reached 51 points in fourth-grade math (70% versus 19%) and 42 points in fifth-grade reading (60% versus 18%). Shelby’s seven reported results were all 19 to 33 points below state results. SchoolDigger ranked Audubon 152nd of 684 schools, in the 78th percentile, with four stars; it ranked Shelby 669th, in the second percentile, with zero stars. Shelby’s suppressed results cannot be compared.
Recent changes are mixed rather than uniformly upward. Audubon’s third- and fourth-grade math scores rose 27 and 26 points year over year, but fifth-grade math fell 10 points, from 68% to 58%; it still finished 15 points above the state. Shelby’s matched results included modest gains, such as 5 points in third-grade reading, but fifth-grade reading fell 5 points. School size and student-teacher ratios also differ: Audubon has a 20.1 ratio, compared with 9.9 at Shelby. For context, both schools reported free/reduced lunch eligible figures for 2024–2025: 46% at Audubon and 84% at Shelby. These are observations about the schools, not explanations for their results.
Thank you for your feedback!