Wacoochee Elementary School, Salem AL

Original Research by School Decision on Wacoochee Elementary School

Wacoochee Elementary School serves students from prekindergarten through sixth grade in a rural part of Lee County, Alabama. The school sits in the small unincorporated community of Salem, a low-density residential area along a highway corridor between Opelika and Phenix City, within the Auburn metropolitan orbit. For families considering this school, the setting is the first thing to understand. Salem has no traditional walkable downtown. It is auto-dependent, with a scattering of businesses along the main routes. The school itself is part of the community fabric; it was damaged by a tornado several years ago, and the broader district has since seen enrollment growth partly tied to recovery in that period. Residents of Salem and the surrounding area commute to nearby cities for work, and the community shows modest housing value appreciation in recent years.

Academically, Wacoochee Elementary presents a mixed picture that a parent would want to examine grade by grade. On the English language arts assessments, the school performs at a level that would be considered solid across the tested grades three through six, with proficiency rates that sit well above the typical range for a school serving this population. The strongest showing comes in fifth grade, where the share of students meeting proficiency is quite high. Math scores are more uneven. Third and fourth graders perform at a moderate level, and fifth graders do noticeably better. But sixth grade math drops off considerably, with less than half of students reaching the proficiency bar. That decline between fifth and sixth grade is a soft spot and one a parent might want to discuss with the school to understand what support is in place for students transitioning into the upper elementary grades. Science is tested only in fourth grade, where about half of students are proficient.

Because the state testing data available for this school covers only a single year, there is no multi-year trend to show whether these scores are improving or declining. That is a gap worth noting. A parent looking for a trajectory will need to ask the school directly about year-over-year results.

The student body is predominantly white, with a smaller proportion of Black students and an even smaller share of Hispanic students and students identifying as two or more races. More than six in ten students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which is a substantial share and signals that a majority of families face economic pressures. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available, so a parent with a child in either category should check directly with the school about how those needs are met.

Wacoochee is a regular public school that is not a charter or magnet. It feeds into the Lee County district, which is currently studying high school capacity in the growing Smiths Station area. For families in the Salem attendance zone, that district-level planning could eventually affect school assignments or facility decisions, but no changes have been finalized.

Housing in the Salem area is more expensive than the statewide median home value, though still below the national median. A family moving to the area should expect home prices that are elevated relative to much of Alabama, which is consistent with the pull of the Auburn-area market. Rent costs also run above the state average.

Overall, Wacoochee Elementary offers a clear strength in English language arts instruction, particularly in the middle elementary grades, while math achievement is inconsistent and notably weaker by sixth grade. The setting is rural and car-dependent, the school is economically diverse with a majority of students receiving meal assistance, and the district is responding to growth pressures that may bring future changes. A parent with a child entering the upper grades might want to press for specifics on math intervention and transition support.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 346%

School 46% · District 45% · ▲ 2 pts above district

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

Grade 459%

School 59% · District 48% · ▲ 11 pts above district

▲ 22 pts above state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

Grade 563%

School 63% · District 46% · ▲ 18 pts above district

▲ 30 pts above state median · ▲ 11 pts above county median

Grade 639%

School 39% · District 36% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 10 pts above state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 373%

School 73% · District 73% · ▲ 1 pts above district

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

Grade 477%

School 77% · District 67% · ▲ 10 pts above district

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

Grade 583%

School 83% · District 68% · ▲ 15 pts above district

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

Grade 675%

School 75% · District 63% · ▲ 12 pts above district

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

Science

Grade 458%

School 58% · District 48% · ▲ 10 pts above district

▲ 19 pts above state median · ▲ 6 pts above 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 3Lower-income68%Higher-income78%11 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income68%Higher-income86%19 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income83%Higher-income83%0 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income67%Higher-income84%16 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income30%Higher-income61%31 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income50%Higher-income67%17 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income57%Higher-income70%12 pp gap