The top reported proficiency rate is 33% in English language arts. The lowest is 8% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Barrett Elementary School
Barrett Elementary School is a regular public elementary school serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in the Birmingham City school district, located in the eastern part of the city near the Woodlawn and East Lake neighborhoods. The school community is predominantly African American, with a substantial Hispanic population also represented. A very large share of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, a common pattern for schools in this part of the district.
On the state's ACAP assessments, Barrett's students generally perform below the midpoint for Jefferson County as a whole, a comparison set that includes a wide mix of urban, suburban, and affluent districts. In mathematics, proficiency rates are low across all tested grades, with only a small fraction of students meeting the state's proficiency bar. English language arts results are relatively stronger -- roughly half of third graders were proficient in the most recent testing year -- but proficiency drops further in fourth and fifth grade, where about a quarter of students met the standard. Science results for fourth grade also show that a small share of students reached proficiency.
A single year of testing data is available for this school, so no trend can be established, and parents should keep this in mind. The pattern suggests a school where many students enter below grade level and the challenges intensify in the upper elementary grades. Families looking at Barrett will want to discuss with the school what targeted supports are available, especially in math and reading intervention. The Alabama Literacy Act's third-grade retention requirement, recently in effect across the state, may be a factor for families with students approaching third grade.
Barrett is part of Birmingham City Schools, a district that has been in transition. The district approved a consolidation plan in 2023, a response to declining enrollment and aging facilities, with phased changes through 2027. This means the footprint of which schools children attend may shift in the coming years. At the same time, the district invested in a new Career Tech Academy in 2023 for high school students, though that is not directly relevant to Barrett's current elementary grades. For families who will stay in the district through middle and high school, these expansions could eventually become part of the pathway, but the near-term picture is one of a district right-sizing its physical plant.
The surrounding community is the city of Birmingham itself, a mid-sized city with a diversified economy built around banking, healthcare, higher education, and manufacturing. The University of Alabama at Birmingham is a major employer and research institution. The city's population has been gradually declining over the past decade and the region faces competition from nearby suburbs, but the metro area remains large. Housing in the Barrett attendance zone is affordable relative to state and national benchmarks, and rents are moderate, which is consistent with a neighborhood school that serves a high proportion of economically disadvantaged students.
Concrete details about the school's programming, such as whether it offers specialized academies, arts enrichment, or before- and after-school care, were not available in the data reviewed. Parents should reach out to the school directly for a sense of the full set of services and academic supports. Similarly, special education and English learner counts were missing from the records, so the school's capacity in those areas cannot be characterized from the data at hand.
Barrett Elementary is a school where the test results point to significant academic challenges, particularly in math. The community context is one of a city district managing change, with a neighborhood school that serves a high-need population. A parent considering this school may want to explore what interventions are in place, how the school supports literacy in the primary grades, and how any district consolidation plans might affect the school's long-term role.
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