The top reported proficiency rate is 68% in English language arts. The lowest is 43% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Mount Olive Elementary School
Mount Olive Elementary School is a regular public school serving prekindergarten through fifth grade in an unincorporated community of the same name, located in the suburbs of Birmingham within Jefferson County. Enrollment is modest for a school spanning this grade band, and the student body is predominantly white, with smaller shares of Black and Hispanic students. About two-fifths of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a share that places it in a moderate range relative to the economic circumstances of the area’s families.
Academically, the school posts a mixed but generally solid picture on the state’s Alabama Comprehensive Assessment Program. Reading and language arts scores are a clear strength: at every tested grade, proficiency rates are well above what the state expects, with third graders reaching a notably high level and fourth and fifth graders also performing well. Math results are more uneven. The third and fourth grade scores land around the halfway mark, while fifth grade math trails notably behind. Science, assessed only in fourth grade, is weaker than reading but comparable to the math results for that grade. Taken together, the school’s overall proficiency across subjects and grades sits above the midpoint among the twenty districts in Jefferson County, indicating that students here are, on the whole, performing better than those in many surrounding schools.
Because this is an elementary school only, there is no graduation rate to report, and data on chronic absenteeism and discipline were not available. The school does not appear to have a Title I designation, and no information about staffing ratios or course access was provided, so a parent would need to ask the school directly about class sizes, enrichment offerings, and support for students with disabilities or English learners—both of these special population counts were also absent from the published data.
Mount Olive itself is a low-density, car-oriented suburban census-designated place with no formal downtown. Interstate 65 runs along its border with Gardendale, which provides the nearest commercial and civic amenities. Home values in the area sit somewhat above the state average but below the national typical, and the estimated monthly mortgage cost on a median-priced home is a bit more than the estimated rent, though the gap is modest. The community’s population has declined slightly in recent years, partly due to annexation of some areas into neighboring Gardendale. A major highway project, the Birmingham Northern Beltline, is planned to cut through the northwestern edge of Mount Olive and could reshape development patterns over time.
For a family, Mount Olive Elementary offers a small-scale, suburban setting with a reading program that stands out and math that could use attention. The peer environment is predominantly white and moderately affluent in economic terms, with a substantial share of families who qualify for income-based meal support. The school’s overall test results are better than many of its county peers, but the one-year snapshot means there is no trend to evaluate. Parents who want a walkable downtown or dense community will not find that here. Those who prioritize a strong early reading foundation and a school where students perform above the county median on state tests, and who are comfortable with a car-dependent suburban commute, may find this a straightforward fit.
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