Hayes K8, Birmingham AL - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Hayes K8

Hayes K8, a regular public school in Birmingham, Alabama, serves students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. It is part of the Birmingham City district, a system that has been navigating a period of consolidation as enrollment has declined and infrastructure has aged. The school itself sits within a city that functions as a major regional hub for healthcare, finance, and education, home to large employers like the University of Alabama at Birmingham and Regions Financial. Housing in the area, as reflected by zip-code-level data, carries a value above the national benchmark and the typical rent here is lower than the estimated monthly mortgage payment, which points to a market where buying is a stretch relative to renting for many families.

The student body at Hayes K8 is diverse in composition. A large majority of students are Black, a substantial share are Hispanic, and the school serves very small numbers of white students and students of two or more races. A very large proportion of the student population qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch. The school does not report a charter or magnet status, and data on its Title I status was not available.

Academically, state assessment results from the most recent testing year show that proficiency rates across subjects and grades are low. In English language arts, the share of students meeting proficiency standards varies by grade, but overall the combined result across all tested grades places the school well below the midpoint; in fact, the school's overall proficiency index, which averages performance across tested subjects and grades, falls in the bottom quartile when compared to other schools within Jefferson County. Math proficiency is very low across every tested grade from third through eighth, with a combined rate that is notably lower than the English language arts figure. Science results, tested in fourth and eighth grade, also show a low rate of proficiency. Only a single year of test data was available, so there is no trend to examine. A parent considering this school may want to ask the school directly about its academic improvement strategies and how it supports students who are behind grade level.

The district brief notes that the Alabama Literacy Act's third-grade retention provision, which requires students who do not meet reading benchmarks to be held back, has taken effect. The district has responded with reading coaches and new literacy intervention programs, but given the low reading proficiency rates at Hayes K8, families of younger students may want to understand the school's specific plans for early literacy.

The school serves all grades from PK through 8, so students attend here through middle school and then must transition to a high school elsewhere in the Birmingham City district. There is no graduation rate data because the school does not serve the high school grades for which that metric is reported. Data on special education identification rates, English learner counts, chronic absenteeism, discipline, and staffing were all absent from the provided materials. A parent may want to follow up with the school for information on class sizes, support services for students with disabilities or language needs, and school climate.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 33%

School 3% · District 27% · ▼ 24 pts below district

▼ 40 pts below state median · ▼ 29 pts below county median

Grade 47%

School 7% · District 20% · ▼ 13 pts below district

▼ 30 pts below state median · ▼ 19 pts below county median

Grade 56%

School 6% · District 22% · ▼ 16 pts below district

▼ 28 pts below state median · ▼ 20 pts below county median

Grade 62%

School 2% · District 13% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▼ 27 pts below state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Grade 74%

School 4% · District 9% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Grade 84%

School 4% · District 7% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 11 pts below state median · even with county median

English language arts

Grade 329%

School 29% · District 49% · ▼ 19 pts below district

▼ 36 pts below state median · ▼ 25 pts below county median

Grade 419%

School 19% · District 40% · ▼ 21 pts below district

▼ 40 pts below state median · ▼ 32 pts below county median

Grade 526%

School 26% · District 45% · ▼ 19 pts below district

▼ 41 pts below state median · ▼ 31 pts below county median

Grade 616%

School 16% · District 34% · ▼ 18 pts below district

▼ 40 pts below state median · ▼ 25 pts below county median

Grade 725%

School 25% · District 35% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▼ 29 pts below state median · ▼ 15 pts below county median

Grade 812%

School 12% · District 33% · ▼ 21 pts below district

▼ 40 pts below state median · ▼ 26 pts below county median

Science

Grade 410%

School 10% · District 15% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 28 pts below state median · ▼ 15 pts below county median

Grade 810%

School 10% · District 16% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 25 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

This schoolBirmingham City, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 6Lower-income16%Higher-income0%16 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income2%Higher-income0%1 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income4%Higher-income0%4 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income5%Higher-income0%5 pp gap