Section High School, Section AL - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Section High School

Section High School serves students from pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade under one roof in the small, rural town of Section, which sits atop Sand Mountain in southeastern Jackson County. The school is a regular public school within the Jackson County school system, and its single-campus K-12 configuration means families send all their children to the same building year after year. The town itself is car-dependent, with a low-density layout, limited commercial activity along Main Street, and no public transit. The local economy relies on manufacturing, educational services, healthcare, and retail, and the Jackson County school system is a notable employer in the area. Section has seen a modest population decline over recent decades, and the district has been undergoing a multi-year consolidation effort, including the closure of small community schools and redrawing of attendance zones, which has changed commute patterns and school options for families countywide.

State testing results from the Alabama ACAP assessment place this school in the bottom quartile for overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades relative to districts in Jackson County. The data, which covers only one year of testing, shows a notable split between English language arts and mathematics. In ELA, proficiency rates in grades three through eight ranged from roughly half of students to nearly three-quarters, depending on the grade, with several grades posting a majority of students meeting the bar. In math, proficiency rates were lower across the board, with grades five, seven, and eight all well below a third of students reaching proficiency. Science results were mixed, with fourth grade showing roughly a third proficient and eighth grade a similar portion. Readers should note that these figures are for a single year, so no trend is available to see whether performance is improving or declining.

The student body of roughly 500 to 600 children is predominantly white, with a substantial share of students who identify as American Indian or Alaska Native, a smaller Hispanic population, and very few Black or multiracial students. More than half of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a notable level of economic need. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available, so families should ask the school directly about the availability and structure of special education and language support services.

The school serves all grades in one location, which can mean older students are in a building with much younger children, a factor some families appreciate for its community feel and others find less suited to the developmental separation they prefer. Housing in the area is significantly below the national median home value, and the local market has seen a slight year-over-year decline, consistent with the town's stable-to-shrinking population. For a family considering this school, the academic picture is mixed: ELA outcomes are a relative strength, while math and, to a lesser extent, science show room for improvement. A parent may want to investigate how the school supports students who are not yet proficient in math and whether the single-campus model meets their child's social and academic needs through the transition from elementary to high school grades.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

>=90%Cohort of 56 students · Class of 2021

The federal source publishes a banded range instead of an exact rate when the graduating cohort is small enough that an exact number could risk identifying individual students.

How this school compares to all schools in this state

Each dot is one school’s SY 2020-21 graduation rate, binned by integer rate. Taller columns mean more schools at that rate. This school is highlighted.

373 schools plotted. 7 additional schools' rates are federally suppressed and not shown. Data: EDFacts SY 2020-21.

Math

Grade 343%

School 43% · District 47% · ▼ 4 pts below district

even with state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Grade 444%

School 44% · District 43% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 7 pts above state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Grade 526%

School 26% · District 40% · ▼ 14 pts below district

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

Grade 645%

School 45% · District 42% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 16 pts above state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

Grade 728%

School 28% · District 29%

▲ 12 pts above state median · ▲ 4 pts above county median

Grade 87%

School 7% · District 29% · ▼ 22 pts below district

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

English language arts

Grade 368%

School 68% · District 72% · ▼ 4 pts below district

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

Grade 472%

School 72% · District 63% · ▲ 9 pts above district

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

Grade 570%

School 70% · District 72% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Grade 674%

School 74% · District 64% · ▲ 10 pts above district

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

Grade 761%

School 61% · District 63% · ▼ 3 pts below district

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

Grade 857%

School 57% · District 62% · ▼ 5 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 432%

School 32% · District 42% · ▼ 10 pts below district

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

Grade 836%

School 36% · District 38% · ▼ 2 pts below district

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

This schoolJackson 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.