Sparkman Middle School, Toney AL

Original Research by School Decision on Sparkman Middle School

Sparkman Middle School sits in Toney, an unincorporated community in northwestern Madison County that is part of the wider Huntsville-Decatur combined statistical area. Toney has a rural-to-suburban texture, with homes spread along country roads, some acreage properties, and small commercial nodes rather than a traditional downtown. The school itself is on Carters Gin Road, one of several Sparkman-named campuses in the area; elementary students attend Madison Cross Roads School in Toney, and high school students go to Sparkman High School in nearby Harvest. The area is seeing residential growth driven by the Huntsville region’s expanding economy, though as an unincorporated community, development falls under Madison County jurisdiction.

Sparkman Middle serves grades six through eight and enrolls a sizable student body for a middle school. The student population is diverse: Black students and white students each make up roughly comparable shares, with a modest share of Hispanic students, a smaller share of students who identify as two or more races, and a small share of American Indian or Alaska Native students. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating that many families face economic pressures. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available in the records reviewed.

On the state’s Alabama Comprehensive Assessment Program, the school’s results vary sharply by subject. In English language arts, proficiency rates land in a moderate range across all three grades, with the eighth-grade rate higher than the sixth- and seventh-grade rates. In science, which is tested only in eighth grade, the proficiency rate is around the midpoint of what is typical. Math is the area of greatest challenge: proficiency rates are low in every grade, with seventh grade showing a particularly low figure. When compared with other districts in Madison County on an overall proficiency index that averages results across tested subjects and grades, Sparkman Middle falls in the bottom quarter. A parent considering this school will want to understand the math curriculum and support structures in place, since that subject shows a pattern that stands apart from the school’s stronger showing in reading and science.

The school’s proximity to the Huntsville job market and the availability of acreage properties in the area are draws for families, but the trade-off is a spread-out, car-dependent community. Toney has a volunteer fire department, a post office, and a historical marker for the Rosenwald School that once served Black students, but it lacks a public library, a dedicated community center, or public transit. Civic functions are handled at the county level. For a family weighing this school, the academic picture is mixed and the math results in particular warrant a close look at what the school offers in terms of intervention, pacing, and teacher support. The broader community offers a quiet, low-density setting that suits families who value space and are comfortable with commuting.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 624%

School 24% · District 42% · ▼ 18 pts below district

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

Grade 710%

School 10% · District 26% · ▼ 16 pts below district

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

Grade 817%

School 17% · District 28% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 647%

School 47% · District 66% · ▼ 19 pts below district

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

Grade 751%

School 51% · District 64% · ▼ 13 pts below district

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

Grade 860%

School 60% · District 65% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▲ 8 pts above state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Science

Grade 848%

School 48% · District 48% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 13 pts above state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

This schoolMadison 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-income39%Higher-income57%19 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income40%Higher-income74%34 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income46%Higher-income78%32 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income15%Higher-income36%21 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income4%Higher-income21%17 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income11%Higher-income26%16 pp gap