The top reported proficiency rate is 29% in English language arts. The lowest is 7% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Richard Arrington Elementary
Richard Arrington Elementary is a regular public school in Birmingham, Alabama, serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. It is one of many neighborhood elementary campuses within Birmingham City Schools, a district that has been navigating declining enrollment and a recently approved consolidation plan aimed at merging several schools and repurposing buildings through the end of the decade. The school sits on the south side of the city, in an area served by a zip code with housing values well below the national and state medians and rents that are similarly modest. For a family considering this part of Birmingham, the housing market is relatively affordable compared with much of the country, though the area’s economic context includes a mix of service, healthcare, and finance employment that anchors the broader metropolitan region.
The student body is small for a school serving kindergarten through fifth grade. The majority of students are Black, and a substantial share are Hispanic, with a very small number of white students and students of two or more races. A large proportion of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating that the school serves a population with significant economic need. Data on students with disabilities and English learners were not available in the records provided. The school does not offer any special magnet or charter status; it operates as a traditional neighborhood elementary.
State testing results from the 2024–25 Alabama ACAP assessments are the only academic performance data available for this school. In reading, proficiency rates across third through fifth grades clustered around roughly a third of students meeting the state’s benchmark. In mathematics, the rates were much lower, with about one in ten students proficient across those same grades. For fourth-grade science, the proficiency rate was in the single digits. These figures place Richard Arrington Elementary in the bottom quartile of schools relative to districts in Jefferson County when considering overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades. It is worth noting that the data covers a single year, so there is no multi-year trend to assess. A parent looking at this school’s academic outcomes would want to investigate further with the school or district about the specific instructional supports, interventions, and curriculum being used to address these results.
No information was available about chronic absenteeism, discipline rates, staffing ratios, or course access. Because the school only goes through fifth grade, there is no graduation rate to report.
The district context includes several recent developments that could affect families. Birmingham City Schools opened a new Career Tech Academy in 2023 for high school students, though that is not directly relevant to elementary families. More immediately, the Alabama Literacy Act’s third-grade retention provision took effect in the 2023–2024 school year, meaning students who do not meet reading proficiency standards in third grade may be held back. District-level data indicate that only a portion of elementary students in Birmingham City Schools scored proficient in reading, and the district has responded with reading coaches and new literacy intervention programs aligned to the science of reading. A parent with a child approaching third grade would want to understand how this school specifically is addressing the literacy requirement.
Richard Arrington Elementary sits in a city that is the largest metropolitan area in Alabama, with a downtown core that has seen some redevelopment and a population that has gradually declined. Housing in the school’s immediate zip code is on the lower end of the cost spectrum, and the neighborhood is predominantly residential. For a family looking for a traditional, small elementary school in a city with deep civic and cultural institutions, and who are prepared to engage closely with the school on academic progress, this is a school that warrants a direct conversation with administrators about current programs and how they serve students where they are.
See more original research from School Decision →