The top reported proficiency rate is 50% in English language arts. The lowest is 27% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Brent Elementary School
Brent Elementary School is the public elementary school serving the town of Brent, Alabama, and is part of the Bibb County school district. The school serves students from prekindergarten through fourth grade. Because it covers only the early elementary years, the school has no graduation rate and does not offer high school pathways such as Advanced Placement, career-tech programs, or dual credit. The school’s academic profile is based entirely on state testing in grades three and four.
On the 2024-25 Alabama state assessments, Brent Elementary’s proficiency rates were mixed across subjects. In English language arts, a little over half of third graders met the proficiency mark, while fourth-grade performance was lower. In mathematics, roughly a quarter of students in each tested grade scored proficient. Science results for fourth graders fell in the same range as the math results. These figures represent a single year of data, and no prior year’s results were available for comparison, so there is no trend to assess. A parent may want to ask the school about how these scores compare to their child’s grade-level targets and what instructional supports are in place.
The student body at Brent Elementary is predominantly white, with a substantial Black enrollment and a smaller Hispanic population. A large majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a measure of household economic need that places the school in a high-poverty context. The enrollment is large enough to fill six grade-level groups from pre-K through fourth grade, but no data was available on the number of students receiving special education services or English learner support. A parent of a child with an Individualized Education Program or who is learning English may want to ask the school directly about those programs.
Brent itself is a small, predominantly residential town in central Alabama, located next to Centreville, the county seat, and surrounded on three sides by the Talladega National Forest. The town has a modest commercial core around First Street, where City Hall is located, and two municipal parks. Major institutional employers include the Bibb Correctional Facility, the U.S. Postal Service, a ranger station for the national forest, and Miller’s Pottery, a long-running family business. The town’s population is declining, and the median household income is low. Housing values in the area are below the state average, and home prices have decreased over the past year. Commutes to larger employment centers such as Tuscaloosa, about a half-hour drive northwest, are common.
Brent Elementary is a regular public school and is not a charter or magnet school. The Bibb County district does not appear to have undergone recent major changes that would affect a parent’s decision, though public reporting on district-level shifts was limited. Because the school ends at fourth grade, families will need to plan for the transition to a separate middle school within the district after that point. The combination of modest academic results, the school’s role as the only elementary in a small, economically challenged town, and the lack of program data for special populations means that a prospective parent will gain the most from a direct visit and conversations with school staff about classroom support and curriculum.
See more original research from School Decision →