Cleveland Elementary School, Cleveland AL

Original Research by School Decision on Cleveland Elementary School

Cleveland Elementary School is a regular public school in Blount County, Alabama, serving students from pre-kindergarten through sixth grade. It is located in the small rural town of Cleveland, a highway-oriented crossroads community with a historic commercial core and limited walkability. The school sits on Stadium Drive, integrated within the town rather than on a remote campus, and is part of the Blount County school system.

Academically, Cleveland Elementary shows notably strong reading and language arts performance. Across the tested grades, most students met the state’s proficiency benchmark in ELA, with particularly high results in third grade, where an overwhelming majority were proficient. The pattern weakens somewhat by sixth grade, where a smaller share of students scored proficient in English language arts — a drop a parent may want to ask the school about, as it could reflect a transition to more complex material or a cohort effect. In mathematics, about half of students at each tested grade level were proficient, a consistent but less robust showing compared to ELA. Science results, available for fourth grade only, were strong, with most students meeting the proficiency standard.

When placed against the other districts in Blount County, Cleveland Elementary’s combined proficiency across subjects and grades sits in the top quartile — a meaningful marker given that the broader county includes only a handful of districts. One year of state assessment data is available, so there is no trend to compare; the school’s academic standing rests on a single snapshot.

Enrollment is moderate for an elementary school serving these grades, and the student body is predominantly White, with a substantial Hispanic minority. More than half of students come from households that qualify for free or reduced-price meals, indicating that a sizable portion of families face economic challenges. Data on students with Individualized Education Programs or English learner status was not reported, so the full picture of support services is incomplete in the available records.

Cleveland itself is a stable, slowly growing rural community. Housing values have risen modestly in recent years, though they remain below national averages. The town experienced a downtown fire in a prior decade that destroyed historic buildings, and its character remains that of a small residential and commercial crossroads. Major employment sectors include manufacturing, healthcare, education, and retail, with the Blount County school system itself a notable local employer.

At the district level, Blount County Schools recently opened a new career technical center, expanding vocational training options for older students. While that facility does not directly affect an elementary school, it signals district-level investment in postsecondary pathways that may become relevant as Cleveland Elementary students move into middle and high school.

For a family considering this school, the academic picture is one of strong early literacy achievement and solid science performance, with math results that are more middling and a noticeable dip in sixth-grade reading. The school serves a community that is rural, economically mixed, and modest in scale. Families who value a small-town setting, a straightforward neighborhood elementary school, and a track record of good early reading outcomes may find it a fit. Those concerned about math proficiency or the drop in upper-grade ELA results would be wise to discuss current instruction and interventions directly with the school.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 354%

School 54% · District 54%

▲ 11 pts above state median

Grade 455%

School 55% · District 47% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▲ 17 pts above state median

Grade 551%

School 51% · District 38% · ▲ 13 pts above district

▲ 18 pts above state median

Grade 650%

School 50% · District 45% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▲ 21 pts above state median

English language arts

Grade 391%

School 91% · District 79% · ▲ 12 pts above district

▲ 26 pts above state median

Grade 477%

School 77% · District 70% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 18 pts above state median

Grade 583%

School 83% · District 71% · ▲ 12 pts above district

▲ 17 pts above state median

Grade 661%

School 61% · District 62% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▲ 6 pts above state median

Science

Grade 481%

School 81% · District 53% · ▲ 28 pts above district

▲ 42 pts above state median

This schoolBlount County, 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 3Lower-income89%Higher-income94%5 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income50%Higher-income58%8 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income34%Higher-income71%36 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income52%Higher-income50%1 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income36%Higher-income66%30 pp gap