Ruhuma Junior High School, Ft Payne AL

Original Research by School Decision on Ruhuma Junior High School

Ruhuma Junior High School is a regular public school in DeKalb County, Alabama, serving students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. Located on County Road 81 outside Fort Payne, it is one of the county's schools rather than part of the Fort Payne city district. The school is small for its grade span and draws from a rural attendance area.

The student body is predominantly white, with a substantial share of students identifying as American Indian or Alaska Native. The proportion of students who qualify for free or reduced-price meals is high, indicating that the school serves a community with significant economic need. Information on students with disabilities and English learners was not available in the data we reviewed.

State assessment results from the 2024-25 school year show a pattern of low academic performance overall, with some variation by subject and grade. In mathematics, proficiency rates were low across all tested grades, with the lowest rates in the upper grades. English language arts scores were more uneven: a bright spot appeared in fifth grade, where the majority of students met the proficiency standard, but performance in other grades was generally lower. Science results, available for fourth and eighth grades, were also low. Because only a single year of assessment data was provided, it is not possible to determine whether these results reflect a trend or a one-year snapshot. Compared with other schools in DeKalb County, Ruhuma's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile, a fact that families may want to discuss with the school to understand the supports in place.

No data on graduation rates are reported, which is expected given that the school stops at eighth grade. Information on course offerings, staffing, discipline, and chronic absenteeism was not available in the data we examined, so a parent interested in those areas would need to follow up directly with the school.

Fort Payne, the nearest town, is a manufacturing and tourism hub in a valley near Lookout Mountain. The city was historically known for hosiery production and has diversified into truck manufacturing, playground equipment, and a large distribution center. The rural parts of DeKalb County where Ruhuma draws its students are generally less dense and more auto-dependent. Housing in the area is moderately priced relative to national benchmarks, and the local economy reflects a mix of industrial and service employment.

The district brief for DeKalb County Schools did not surface any recent budget, curriculum, or facility changes of lasting parent relevance. Ruhuma Junior High School appears to be a small, rural school with a high-poverty population and academic results that are weak in several subjects. Families considering this school may want to ask about how the school addresses individual student needs and what academic improvement efforts are underway.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 321%

School 21% · District 46% · ▼ 25 pts below district

▼ 22 pts below state median · ▼ 29 pts below county median

Grade 433%

School 33% · District 36% · ▼ 3 pts below district

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

Grade 529%

School 29% · District 38% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Grade 619%

School 19% · District 34% · ▼ 16 pts below district

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

Grade 719%

School 19% · District 16% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 2 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 811%

School 11% · District 15% · ▼ 5 pts below district

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

English language arts

Grade 342%

School 42% · District 61% · ▼ 18 pts below district

▼ 23 pts below state median · ▼ 20 pts below county median

Grade 438%

School 38% · District 53% · ▼ 15 pts below district

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 21 pts below county median

Grade 576%

School 76% · District 65% · ▲ 12 pts above district

▲ 10 pts above state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

Grade 631%

School 31% · District 50% · ▼ 18 pts below district

▼ 24 pts below state median · ▼ 25 pts below county median

Grade 731%

School 31% · District 49% · ▼ 17 pts below district

▼ 22 pts below state median · ▼ 21 pts below county median

Grade 858%

School 58% · District 49% · ▲ 9 pts above district

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Science

Grade 419%

School 19% · District 33% · ▼ 14 pts below district

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

Grade 811%

School 11% · District 33% · ▼ 22 pts below district

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

This schoolDeKalb 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.