Isabella High School, Maplesville AL

Original Research by School Decision on Isabella High School

Isabella High School sits in Maplesville, a small, rural town in Chilton County roughly halfway between Tuscaloosa and Montgomery. The school serves students from pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade on a single campus near the historic center of town. It is a regular public school within the Chilton County district. The student body is moderately sized and predominantly white, with a smaller Hispanic population and an even smaller Black population; Asian, Native American, and Pacific Islander students are not represented in the enrollment data. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the area’s economic profile.

Maplesville itself is a quiet crossroads community that grew around a railroad depot and cotton shipping. Today its population is growing very slowly, and no major new housing developments or commercial projects appear in available records. Home values in the area tend to be lower than the state median, and the town’s limited employment base means many residents likely commute to nearby Clanton or other centers. The town has a town hall, a historic depot now used as a senior center, and a handful of historic listings, but no public library, public transit system, or named parks were identified in the sources we found.

Academically, Isabella High School’s state test results from the most recent year show a clear pattern. In English language arts, proficiency rates are relatively strong in the early elementary grades, with a large majority of third, fourth, and fifth graders meeting the bar. By sixth grade that share drops noticeably, and in seventh and eighth grades fewer than half of students score at the proficient level. In mathematics the contrast is sharper. Early elementary grades show modest proficiency, but in sixth grade the rate falls to a level that would concern many families, and seventh and eighth grades remain weak. Science results are available for two grades: fourth grade shows a moderate share proficient, while eighth grade’s rate is low. Overall, the school’s reading and math results across all tested grades and subjects place it within a range that a parent would want to understand further, particularly for the middle school years.

Because this is a pre-K through twelfth grade school, state testing covers only grades three through eight and science in select grades; no high school assessment data was provided. We looked for a graduation rate, chronic absenteeism data, and information on Advanced Placement, dual enrollment, or career programs, but none were available in the data we received. The district brief did not reveal any recent policy or curriculum changes of likely interest to parents. A family considering this school would want to ask directly about course offerings for high school students, graduation rates, and what academic supports exist for students who struggle in math and science during middle school.

The school’s small size and rural setting mean the peer group is drawn from a limited geographic area. For a family that values a P-12 school where siblings can attend the same campus through all grades and the community is tight-knit, Isabella High School fits that description. For a family looking for a wide array of advanced courses or strong middle school math outcomes, the available data suggests they should investigate further with the school to see what interventions and enrichment are in place. The housing market in Maplesville is affordable relative to state and national averages, and the town’s pace of change is slow, which may appeal to those seeking stability and a lower cost of living.

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Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

>=95%Cohort of 65 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 340%

School 40% · District 45% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▼ 3 pts below state median

Grade 453%

School 53% · District 33% · ▲ 20 pts above district

▲ 15 pts above state median

Grade 544%

School 44% · District 25% · ▲ 19 pts above district

▲ 10 pts above state median

Grade 68%

School 8% · District 22% · ▼ 14 pts below district

▼ 21 pts below state median

Grade 715%

School 15% · District 17% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 2 pts below state median

Grade 819%

School 19% · District 13% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▲ 4 pts above state median

English language arts

Grade 370%

School 70% · District 62% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▲ 5 pts above state median

Grade 477%

School 77% · District 54% · ▲ 23 pts above district

▲ 19 pts above state median

Grade 576%

School 76% · District 59% · ▲ 18 pts above district

▲ 10 pts above state median

Grade 658%

School 58% · District 51% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▲ 2 pts above state median

Grade 743%

School 43% · District 49% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 11 pts below state median

Grade 840%

School 40% · District 44% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 12 pts below state median

Science

Grade 453%

School 53% · District 38% · ▲ 15 pts above district

▲ 14 pts above state median

Grade 824%

School 24% · District 25% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 11 pts below state median

This schoolChilton 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 6Lower-income59%Higher-income56%3 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income37%Higher-income50%13 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income33%Higher-income48%15 pp gap