James Dawson Elementary, Huntsville AL

Original Research by School Decision on James Dawson Elementary

James Dawson Elementary serves students in prekindergarten through sixth grade in Huntsville, Alabama, as part of the Huntsville City school district. The school is a regular public school.

The student body is diverse, with the largest share of students identifying as Black, followed by a substantial share identifying as Hispanic, and smaller shares of students who are white, two or more races, Asian, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, or American Indian or Alaska Native. A very high proportion of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals. Data on the share of students with individualized education programs and the share of students who are English learners was not available.

State testing results from the 2024-25 school year are available for math, English language arts, and science. In math, proficiency rates were below the midpoint for the tested grades, and they declined grade by grade. The highest rate among the tested grades was in third grade, while the lowest was in sixth grade. In English language arts, proficiency rates were somewhat higher but still modest, with the strongest performance in third grade and the lowest in sixth grade. Science results, available for grade four, showed a rate that was in a similar range to the lower math rates. Overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades placed the school in the bottom quartile relative to other districts in Madison County. Because this is the only year of data we have for these state tests, we cannot describe a trend.

There is no graduation rate reported for James Dawson, which is expected for a school that does not serve high school grades. Data on chronic absenteeism, discipline, course access, and staffing were not available, so we cannot describe the school’s climate or resources from those angles.

The school’s housing context, based on the ZIP code, shows home values that are notably lower than both the state and national benchmarks. Rents in the area are also modest relative to incomes, which may be a consideration for families looking in this part of Huntsville.

James Dawson is located in Huntsville, a mid-size city with a technology and aerospace driven economy anchored by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, Redstone Arsenal, and Cummings Research Park. The city is among the fastest growing in the country, with population growth fueled by defense, manufacturing, and data center employers. The downtown core offers civic and cultural venues such as Big Spring Park, the Huntsville Museum of Art, the Von Braun Center, and the Orion Amphitheater. The University of Alabama in Huntsville is situated within Cummings Research Park rather than downtown. The city’s growth has included annexations westward into Limestone County, and the school district itself shifted to a balanced calendar starting in the 2023-24 school year, moving the start of the school year earlier and redistributing breaks throughout the year.

For a parent evaluating James Dawson Elementary, the assessment picture shows a school where proficiency rates are low relative to the county, particularly in math and science. English language arts rates are somewhat stronger but still below typical levels. The student population is predominantly low income, and the school serves a diverse community. Huntsville’s broader economic strengths have not translated into higher test performance at this school, which is something a parent may want to look into further with the school or district. The school serves a pre-K through sixth grade population, so families with younger children can stay at Dawson through the elementary years before transitioning to a middle school in the district.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 325%

School 25% · District 39% · ▼ 14 pts below district

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

Grade 419%

School 19% · District 39% · ▼ 20 pts below district

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 28 pts below county median

Grade 511%

School 11% · District 32% · ▼ 21 pts below district

▼ 22 pts below state median · ▼ 30 pts below county median

Grade 610%

School 10% · District 34% · ▼ 24 pts below district

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

English language arts

Grade 340%

School 40% · District 58% · ▼ 19 pts below district

▼ 26 pts below state median · ▼ 32 pts below county median

Grade 433%

School 33% · District 55% · ▼ 21 pts below district

▼ 25 pts below state median · ▼ 34 pts below county median

Grade 539%

School 39% · District 64% · ▼ 25 pts below district

▼ 28 pts below state median · ▼ 34 pts below county median

Grade 621%

School 21% · District 58% · ▼ 36 pts below district

▼ 34 pts below state median · ▼ 49 pts below county median

Science

Grade 417%

School 17% · District 40% · ▼ 23 pts below district

▼ 21 pts below state median · ▼ 37 pts below county median

This schoolHuntsville City, 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

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income11%Higher-income0%11 pp gap