The top reported proficiency rate is 57% in English language arts. The lowest is 36% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Demopolis Middle School
Demopolis Middle School is a regular public school serving grades six through eight in the Demopolis City school district. It is the only middle school in the district and sits within the small historic city of Demopolis, the largest city in Marengo County. The city has a population that has been declining slightly in recent years. It sits at the confluence of the Tombigbee and Black Warrior rivers and has a historic downtown business district, two industrial parks, and an inland port operated by the Alabama State Port Authority. A proposed extension of Interstate 85 near the city is a future infrastructure development that could influence growth, but no major new housing developments were identified in available sources.
The student body is about evenly split between Black and White students, with a small share identifying as Hispanic and a very small share as Asian. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The school serves a relatively contained grade band, with three grade levels in a single building, and its enrollment is on the smaller side for that span, creating a tighter peer group that stays together across the middle school years.
State testing data from the Alabama Comprehensive Assessment Program shows a varied picture across subjects and grade levels. In English language arts, sixth graders performed strongest, with most students meeting the proficiency standard. Seventh graders also had a solid majority proficient, while eighth graders fell below that threshold, with fewer than half proficient. In math, the pattern was steeper. Sixth graders were near the same level they showed in reading, but seventh graders dropped considerably, and eighth graders scored lowest, with only about one in five students proficient. In science, which is tested only in eighth grade, fewer than half of students met the proficiency bar. Viewing a single year of data, overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades placed this school above the midpoint among the districts in Marengo County.
The school's performance profile shows a clear split between English language arts and math, and a notable decline in math proficiency as students advance through the grade levels. A parent may want to ask the school how it approaches math instruction and support across the transition from sixth to seventh and seventh to eighth grade, and what interventions are in place for students who begin to fall behind in that subject as they get older. The eighth grade results in both math and reading suggest that some students may need additional support in their final middle school year.
The school's state assessment data is available for a single academic year only, so there is no trend information to show whether these proficiency rates reflect a stable pattern or a change from prior years. No program offerings were reported in the available data, so it is not clear what electives, enrichment, or intervention programs are available. Information on chronic absenteeism was also not available, and there were no reported discipline data. No data on students with disabilities or English learners was present in the data provided for this school.
The district itself did not return any recent major changes in the available reporting, such as a facility bond, a new superintendent, a boundary rezoning, or a program launch within the last four years. The Demopolis Higher Education Center, a facility in the downtown area that includes a library, science lab, and community rooms, was described in public sources as a modern meeting space for the county, but its specific relationship to the middle school was not detailed.
Demopolis Middle School offers a setting where the student body is roughly balanced by race and where economic diversity is present, with a high share of families qualifying for meal assistance. The academic picture is strongest in sixth grade English language arts and grows more uneven by eighth grade, with math proficiency in particular declining to a level that warrants investigation. For a family considering this school, a conversation with the administration about how the school handles the transition through the middle grades and what academic supports are in place for students who need them would be a useful next step.
See more original research from School Decision →