Sweet Water High School, Sweet Water AL

Original Research by School Decision on Sweet Water High School

Sweet Water High School is a pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade regular public school in rural Marengo County, Alabama. It is the only school in the town of Sweet Water, a very small community whose population has been declining for years. The school itself dates to the early 1870s and has long been a central institution in a place with few other civic anchors beyond the town hall and the historic Sweet Water Cotton Gin.

The student body draws from the town and surrounding area. The enrollment is modest for a PK-12 campus. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Racially, the majority of students are white, followed by a sizable Black population and a very small number of students from other backgrounds. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not reported in the available records, so families with children in those categories may want to ask the school directly about supports.

Academically, the school’s state test results present a mixed picture. Overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades places Sweet Water High School in the top quartile relative to districts in Marengo County. That comparison set is small—only three districts—so the ranking should be read in context rather than as a broad statewide benchmark.

Looking across grade levels, the strongest results appear in early elementary English language arts. In third grade, a large majority of students met the state’s proficiency bar in reading, and fifth grade also showed a high rate. Math in those same early grades was solid but more uneven: third grade math proficiency was strong, but fourth grade dropped noticeably. By the middle school years, particularly seventh and eighth grade, math proficiency rates were very low, a soft spot that a parent may want to investigate further with the school. Science results in fourth and eighth grade hovered around modest levels, with eighth grade slightly higher than fourth.

This pattern—a solid early start that weakens as students move into the upper grades—suggests that families considering Sweet Water for the long haul should ask how the school supports students through the transition into middle school, especially in mathematics. The school’s graduation rate was not available in the data provided, so it is unclear how well these academic patterns carry through to completion. A parent considering this school would want to request that information directly.

The town of Sweet Water itself is small and auto-oriented, bisected by state and county roads. Its economy historically relied on cotton, and the workforce today is spread across manufacturing, retail, construction, education, and healthcare with no single large employer. Population decline is ongoing. Housing stock is limited, and there are no major development projects documented. For a family, the school is the primary community institution, and the rural setting means that access to amenities, jobs, and services likely requires driving to larger towns such as Butler or Pine Hill.

No recent district-level changes were reported for the Marengo County school system, so the school’s operations appear to be stable on the surface. Without data on course offerings, Advanced Placement or dual-enrollment options, extracurriculars, or student discipline, a family’s picture of daily life at Sweet Water will depend on a direct visit and conversations with staff and current families. The available numbers show a school that does well in the early grades on reading but faces clear challenges in middle school math, and one whose overall proficiency outpaces its immediate county peers even as the county itself is small and rural.

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Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

>=90%Cohort of 41 students · Class of 2021

The federal source publishes a banded range instead of an exact rate when the graduating cohort is small enough that an exact number could risk identifying individual students.

How this school compares to all schools in this state

Each dot is one school’s SY 2020-21 graduation rate, binned by integer rate. Taller columns mean more schools at that rate. This school is highlighted.

373 schools plotted. 7 additional schools' rates are federally suppressed and not shown. Data: EDFacts SY 2020-21.

Math

Grade 368%

School 68% · District 51% · ▲ 18 pts above district

▲ 25 pts above state median

Grade 438%

School 38% · District 36% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 1 pts above state median

Grade 564%

School 64% · District 47% · ▲ 17 pts above district

▲ 31 pts above state median

Grade 657%

School 57% · District 45% · ▲ 12 pts above district

▲ 28 pts above state median

Grade 715%

School 15% · District 10% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▼ 2 pts below state median

Grade 811%

School 11% · District 6% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▼ 4 pts below state median

English language arts

Grade 384%

School 84% · District 68% · ▲ 17 pts above district

▲ 19 pts above state median

Grade 460%

School 60% · District 55% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▲ 1 pts above state median

Grade 581%

School 81% · District 72% · ▲ 9 pts above district

▲ 14 pts above state median

Grade 654%

School 54% · District 56% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 1 pts below state median

Grade 751%

School 51% · District 46% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▼ 3 pts below state median

Grade 856%

School 56% · District 35% · ▲ 21 pts above district

▲ 4 pts above state median

Science

Grade 434%

School 34% · District 29% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▼ 4 pts below state median

Grade 844%

School 44% · District 31% · ▲ 14 pts above district

▲ 9 pts above state median

This schoolMarengo 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.