Parkside Elementary School, Baileyton AL

Original Research by School Decision on Parkside Elementary School

Parkside Elementary School serves students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade as a regular public school in the Cullman County system. Located in Baileyton, a small rural town in northeastern Cullman County, the school draws from a community that is lightly populated and car-dependent, with low pedestrian street life and slow but steady population growth. The town lacks major employers or civic anchors beyond a historic cemetery, and schools in Baileyton operate under the county district rather than as a standalone local system.

The student body is small for the PK-8 grade band and is predominantly White, with a modest share of Hispanic students and a small multiracial group. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting a community with modest household incomes. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available. The school is not a charter or magnet, and no Title I status was reported.

Academically, the picture is mixed and worth examining by subject. On the Alabama ACAP assessments for the most recent school year, reading and English language arts results show a clear area of strength, with the majority of students scoring proficient in every tested grade. Fourth, fifth, and seventh graders posted rates that indicate a solid foundation in literacy, while sixth and eighth graders also performed at a moderately strong level overall. This suggests that the school’s literacy instruction is on relatively firm ground.

Math tells a more challenging story. Proficiency rates fall meaningfully below those in ELA in most grades, and the pattern is uneven. The youngest tested grade sits around the midpoint, but by sixth and seventh grade, only a small share of students reached proficiency. Eighth grade math recovered somewhat but remained a soft spot. Science results, available for grades four and eight, fell close to the midpoint, neither a standout nor a cause for concern.

When compared against other districts in Cullman County, which includes just two districts, the school’s overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades places it in the bottom quartile. That is a narrow peer set, so the comparison should be read with that context in mind, but it is a clear signal that achievement lags behind the other district in the county. A parent may want to ask the school how it is addressing math performance in the middle grades, and whether targeted interventions or curriculum changes are in place.

No graduation rate is reported because the school does not serve high school grades. Chronic absenteeism data was also absent from the available records, and no trend data exists yet beyond a single year of testing, so it is not possible to say whether proficiency is improving or declining. The school’s programs, course access, and staffing information were not part of the data provided.

For a family considering this school, the strengths lie in reading instruction across the elementary and middle grades, and in the stability of a small, rural setting where students can attend the same building from pre-K through eighth grade. The main academic question to explore further is middle-grade math, where the drop-off is pronounced. The broader community offers a quiet, slow-growing residential environment, with the county seat of Cullman within a reasonable drive for shopping, employment, and services. Housing values in the area are below both the state and national benchmarks, which may be a factor for families weighing relocation.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 350%

School 50% · District 44% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▲ 7 pts above state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Grade 436%

School 36% · District 39% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Grade 550%

School 50% · District 43% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 17 pts above state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

Grade 619%

School 19% · District 37% · ▼ 18 pts below district

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 22 pts below county median

Grade 713%

School 13% · District 24% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

Grade 828%

School 28% · District 30% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▲ 13 pts above state median · even with county median

English language arts

Grade 350%

School 50% · District 68% · ▼ 18 pts below district

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▼ 23 pts below county median

Grade 467%

School 67% · District 63% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 8 pts above state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

Grade 571%

School 71% · District 75% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▲ 5 pts above state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

Grade 652%

School 52% · District 62% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▼ 4 pts below state median · ▼ 14 pts below county median

Grade 761%

School 61% · District 58% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 7 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 860%

School 60% · District 64% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▲ 8 pts above state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Science

Grade 444%

School 44% · District 48% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Grade 844%

School 44% · District 48% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▲ 9 pts above state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

This schoolCullman 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.