The top reported proficiency rate is 35% in English language arts. The lowest is 12% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Morris Slingluff Elementary School
Morris Slingluff Elementary School is a regular public school in Dothan, Alabama, serving kindergarten through sixth grade as part of the Dothan City school district. It is neither a charter nor a magnet school. The school’s enrollment is on the smaller side for a K-6 building, and the student body is predominantly Black, with smaller shares of White and Hispanic students and very small numbers of students from other racial and ethnic backgrounds. A large majority of students come from low-income households, as reflected in a free- or reduced-price meal eligibility rate that is very high. That level of concentrated poverty is a meaningful piece of context for any family considering the school, because it often correlates with fewer family resources and higher needs in the building.
State testing results from Alabama’s ACAP assessments for the 2024-25 school year provide the only academic performance data available. In math, the share of students meeting proficiency was low across all tested grades, with particularly thin results in fifth grade. In English language arts, the proficiency rates were notably higher than math but still below what many families would consider a strong benchmark; about one in three students scored proficient, a figure that held fairly steady across grades three through five. Science results, available for fourth graders, also showed a small share of students reaching proficiency. Because this is a single year of data and the state has not yet reported a multi-year trend, it is impossible to say whether these results represent an improvement or a decline. A parent may want to ask the school about recent instructional changes or support programs aimed at raising achievement, especially in math, where the numbers are weakest.
The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report. No chronic absenteeism data, staffing ratios, or disciplinary metrics were available in the data provided, and no information on special education or English learner populations was included either. The absence of that data makes it harder to assess the full picture of student support. Families with children receiving specialized services may want to contact the school directly about how those needs are addressed.
Program offerings, including advanced coursework, arts, or career exploration, were not listed. That may reflect the grade band – elementary schools rarely offer AP or dual enrollment – but the lack of any documented enrichment or intervention programs leaves a gap in what a family can know from public data alone.
On the comparison measure that is available, which places the school against other districts within Houston County, Morris Slingluff Elementary falls at the bottom of the small three-district set on overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades. This is not a verdict on the school’s quality or the effort of its staff, but it does signal that, in terms of test performance, this building faces steeper challenges than its county peers.
The school is located in Dothan, a regional commercial and transportation hub for southeastern Alabama, southwest Georgia, and the Florida Panhandle. Dothan’s economy is diversified across healthcare, poultry processing, and manufacturing, with employers including Sony, Michelin, and General Electric. The city is known as the Peanut Capital of the World. The built environment is car-dependent and low-density, typical of a sprawling Sun Belt city. A downtown core with the Wiregrass Museum of Art and other civic anchors exists, but residential areas and schools are spread out. Housing values in the area are below the national median and slightly below the statewide median, making homeownership relatively affordable for the region. Rents also compare favorably to national benchmarks. No recent district-wide changes – such as boundary shifts, curriculum overhauls, or tax votes – were found in publicly reported sources.
For a family, Morris Slingluff Elementary is a school serving a high-poverty, majority-Black community where state test scores are low, especially in math. The surrounding city offers economic opportunity and an affordable housing market, but the school’s academic profile means that families who are able to compare options will want to investigate the school’s tutoring, intervention, and enrichment strategies carefully. The data does not speak to teacher quality, school climate, or parent involvement, all of which can matter as much as test scores in a given child’s experience.
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