Beulah Elementary School, Valley AL

Original Research by School Decision on Beulah Elementary School

Beulah Elementary School serves students from prekindergarten through sixth grade in Valley, Alabama, as part of the Lee County school district. The school is a regular public school with a substantial enrollment for an elementary campus. Its student body is predominantly white, with a notable share of Black students and a smaller Hispanic population. A significant majority of students come from households that qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a marker that the school serves a community with a high level of economic need.

Academically, the picture is mixed and it depends on the subject and grade. In the most recent state assessment results, the school’s strongest showing was in third-grade English language arts, where a large majority of students met the proficiency benchmark. Performance in later elementary grades in English was more moderate, with proficiency rates in fourth through sixth grades falling below that third-grade peak but still representing a solid share of students. Math proficiency was a clear soft spot across all tested grades. In third grade, fewer than half of students were proficient, and in fourth, fifth, and sixth grades, the rates were notably lower. Science, tested only in fourth grade, showed a small share of students reaching proficiency. A parent considering Beulah will want to look into how the school supports students who are not yet meeting benchmarks in math and science, as these appear to be areas where the school as a whole has room for improvement.

When compared to other districts in Lee County, Beulah’s overall proficiency index sits below the midpoint of the cohort. This positioning gives a relative sense but should be weighed against the fact that the district-level comparison includes places with different demographics and resources. Graduation rate data does not apply here, as the school does not serve grades where that metric is measured. Data on chronic absenteeism was also unavailable, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about attendance trends.

The school is part of the Lee County district, which has been experiencing enrollment growth, particularly in the Smiths Station area near Fort Moore. A district committee has been formed to study high school capacity, evaluating whether to expand the current high school or build a new facility. Recommendations are expected on a timeline that could affect the district’s future facility and tax landscape. Beulah itself sits in Valley, a town that mixes older textile-mill neighborhoods with newer subdivisions and industrial development spurred by the arrival of a major automotive plant across the state line and new food-processing and distribution centers. The town is growing and is largely car-dependent, with no identified public transit. Its housing market, reflected in Zillow’s Home Value Index for the local zip code, is below the national and state benchmarks, which may be relevant for families comparing affordability.

Beulah Elementary offers a neighborhood-school setting with a high level of economic diversity. Its academic profile shows a relative strength in early literacy and a challenge in math that persists across the elementary grades. For a family, the school’s size, its position within a growing district, and the affordability of the local housing market are straightforward characteristics to weigh. The academic data gives a clear starting point for conversations with the school about how it addresses the areas where proficiency rates are lower, especially in mathematics.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 347%

School 47% · District 45% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 4 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 429%

School 29% · District 48% · ▼ 19 pts below district

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

Grade 529%

School 29% · District 46% · ▼ 16 pts below district

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

Grade 629%

School 29% · District 36% · ▼ 7 pts below district

even with state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 377%

School 77% · District 73% · ▲ 5 pts above district

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

Grade 447%

School 47% · District 67% · ▼ 20 pts below district

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

Grade 559%

School 59% · District 68% · ▼ 9 pts below district

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▼ 14 pts below county median

Grade 659%

School 59% · District 63% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▲ 3 pts above state median · even with county median

Science

Grade 438%

School 38% · District 48% · ▼ 9 pts below district

even with state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

This schoolLee 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 4Lower-income39%Higher-income66%27 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income55%Higher-income67%11 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income55%Higher-income64%9 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income41%Higher-income58%17 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income25%Higher-income37%13 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income22%Higher-income39%17 pp gap