Gaylesville High School, Gaylesville AL

Original Research by School Decision on Gaylesville High School

Gaylesville High School is a regular public school serving students from pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade in the small, rural town of Gaylesville in northeast Cherokee County, near the Georgia border. The town itself is very small, historically an agricultural center for cotton, corn, and hay, and now retains a quiet, residential character with minimal commercial activity. Employment data suggests many residents commute to nearby areas for work, with the largest employment sectors being educational services, health care, and social assistance, followed by transportation, warehousing, and utilities. The school, home of the Trojans, is part of the Cherokee County School System. Civic and recreational anchors in the area include Cornwall Furnace, a restored Civil War-era iron furnace that is now a historic park, and Weiss Lake, known for sport fishing.

The student body is very small for a school that covers this full grade span. The school's enrollment is heavily white, representing nearly all students, with a very small share identifying as Black or Hispanic. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the area's economic context.

State assessment results from the 2024-2025 school year present a mixed picture. In English language arts, students in several grades performed well above the school's own average, with proficiency rates in grades three and eight reaching notably high levels. Performance in the middle grades was generally solid, though fourth grade showed a softer result. A parent may want to ask the school directly about the instructional approach in that grade. Math results were a significant concern across nearly every tested grade, with proficiency rates landing much lower than in English language arts. The strongest math result was in third grade, while the weakest was in sixth grade, where the proficiency rate was very low. Science results, tested in grades four and eight, were moderate, with eighth grade performing notably better than fourth. Because this is the first year of data available for this assessment, there is no trend information to indicate whether these scores represent a typical year or a change from prior performance. A parent should ask the school about how these results compare to previous years, and how the school is approaching math instruction.

Because Gaylesville High School covers the entire grade span, it does not have a traditional high school graduation rate to report. Similarly, data on chronic absenteeism, discipline, and other civil rights topics was not available in this data. The school is located in a county with only one district, so there is no meaningful academic comparison to make against local peers.

Housing in the Gaylesville area is more affordable than the national median, with home values at a moderate level for the state and the wider country. The town itself is growing very slowly, with only a slight population increase in recent years. No major new housing developments or commercial projects were identified in available sources. For a family, this means a stable, quiet setting with little new construction or rapid change.

This school is best suited for a family looking for a very small, rural school environment where a child can attend from pre-kindergarten through high school in the same building, often with a close-knit community feel. The school has clear strengths in English language arts at several grade levels, but math proficiency is a significant soft spot that any parent considering this school would want to discuss with the administration. Families who value the intimacy and simplicity of a small rural town and are comfortable with the limited commercial and recreational amenities will find a self-contained setting here.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

>=80%Cohort of 18 students · Class of 2021

The federal source publishes a banded range instead of an exact rate when the graduating cohort is small enough that an exact number could risk identifying individual students.

How this school compares to all schools in this state

Each dot is one school’s SY 2020-21 graduation rate, binned by integer rate. Taller columns mean more schools at that rate. This school is highlighted.

373 schools plotted. 7 additional schools' rates are federally suppressed and not shown. Data: EDFacts SY 2020-21.

Math

Grade 339%

School 39% · District 43% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 4 pts below state median

Grade 421%

School 21% · District 30% · ▼ 9 pts below district

▼ 17 pts below state median

Grade 518%

School 18% · District 44% · ▼ 26 pts below district

▼ 15 pts below state median

Grade 68%

School 8% · District 32% · ▼ 24 pts below district

▼ 21 pts below state median

Grade 720%

School 20% · District 24% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▲ 3 pts above state median

Grade 810%

School 10% · District 22% · ▼ 12 pts below district

▼ 5 pts below state median

English language arts

Grade 378%

School 78% · District 73% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▲ 13 pts above state median

Grade 448%

School 48% · District 58% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▼ 10 pts below state median

Grade 555%

School 55% · District 69% · ▼ 15 pts below district

▼ 12 pts below state median

Grade 650%

School 50% · District 57% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▼ 5 pts below state median

Grade 764%

School 64% · District 55% · ▲ 9 pts above district

▲ 10 pts above state median

Grade 875%

School 75% · District 56% · ▲ 19 pts above district

▲ 23 pts above state median

Science

Grade 431%

School 31% · District 47% · ▼ 16 pts below district

▼ 7 pts below state median

Grade 845%

School 45% · District 42% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 10 pts above state median

This schoolCherokee 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.