Brighton School, Brighton AL - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Brighton School

Brighton School serves students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade as a regular public school within the Jefferson County school system, located in the small city of Brighton, Alabama, just east of Hueytown and near Birmingham. The school is the only public school in the city itself, situated in a community that has experienced sustained economic and population decline since the closure of the Woodward Iron Company several decades ago. The built environment is modest, with few commercial establishments and limited street life; the city operates its own police and fire departments, and the school sits near City Hall, which itself anchors a recently placed historical marker. A parent considering Brighton School should know that the town’s housing values are very low and rent is moderate, and many residents commute to the broader Birmingham-Hoover area for work. The city’s population has fallen steadily for decades, and a recent default on city warrants reflects continued fiscal distress.

Academically, the school’s performance is mixed. State test results are available for grades three through five in math, reading, and science. Proficiency rates are modest, with the share of students meeting state standards varying by subject and grade level. The combined average across tested subjects places Brighton School slightly above the midpoint among the districts in Jefferson County, meaning its overall results are in the middle range of the county’s schools. That said, a substantial portion of students are not yet reaching the proficiency benchmark, which may be a concern for families focused on high test scores. A parent may want to ask the school about specific supports for students who are below grade level, especially in science where the reported proficiency was lower than in math and reading.

Enrollment at Brighton School is small, and the student body is predominantly Black or African American and Hispanic, with very small numbers of white, Asian, and multiracial students. A very high proportion of students come from low-income households, as indicated by the share qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. This high-poverty environment often means the school receives additional federal funding, but it also may reflect broader economic challenges in the community that can affect student readiness and family engagement. Information on special education enrollment and English learner support was not available in the provided data, so a family with a child needing those services should contact the school directly to ask about programs and staffing.

The school’s official grade span is listed as pre-kindergarten through eighth grade, but the most recent enrollment data shows no students in grades seven or eight. It is unclear whether the school currently serves those grades; a parent should verify the grade offerings for the upcoming year. Because the school stops before high school, families will need to plan for a transition to a Jefferson County high school, the nearest of which may be in neighboring towns or the city of Birmingham.

Overall, Brighton School presents a small, high-poverty, majority-minority setting with test results that are middling relative to other Jefferson County districts. The community itself is in a long-term contraction, with limited local employment and a modest housing market. For a family that values a close-knit, neighborhood school in an affordable and compact town, Brighton School may be a reasonable fit, but they should expect to investigate academic supports and confirm the full grade structure before enrolling.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 328%

School 28% · District 31% · ▼ 3 pts below district

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

Grade 442%

School 42% · District 31% · ▲ 11 pts above district

▲ 5 pts above state median · ▲ 17 pts above county median

Grade 526%

School 26% · District 28% · ▼ 2 pts below district

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

English language arts

Grade 334%

School 34% · District 53% · ▼ 19 pts below district

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

Grade 442%

School 42% · District 53% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▼ 16 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

Grade 535%

School 35% · District 59% · ▼ 24 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 418%

School 18% · District 33% · ▼ 15 pts below district

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

This schoolJefferson 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.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 6Lower-income31%Higher-income0%31 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income14%Higher-income0%14 pp gap