Brilliant School, Brilliant AL - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Brilliant School

Brilliant School is the only public school in the small rural town of Brilliant, serving students from prekindergarten through twelfth grade under the Marion County school system. The town, built around coal mining in the early twentieth century, has seen its population decline in recent decades and now relies on light manufacturing, including a garment plant that produces items for the U.S. Army and a cabin manufacturer. The school sits on a highway in a low-density setting; students attend a single campus for all grades, though publicly reported sources indicate that elementary and high school buildings are at separate addresses nearby. The town hosts an annual Coal Fest and maintains a municipal park, a small museum, and a walking trail, but street life is minimal.

Academically, the school’s state assessment results from the 2024-25 school year provide a mixed picture that varies sharply by grade level and subject. In mathematics, third graders performed at a level that stands out as a clear strength, with most students meeting the state’s proficiency standard. By fourth grade, however, that share dropped substantially, and the pattern continued downward through the middle grades: fifth grade was moderate, sixth and seventh grades were low, and eighth grade remained low. The overall math proficiency across tested grades was well below the midpoint when compared with other districts in Marion County. English language arts results were steadier but still uneven. Third grade again showed a strong proficiency rate, and eighth grade also posted a solid result. The middle grades of four through seven clustered in a range where roughly half of students met the standard, with some variation by grade. Science results were available for fourth and eighth grades; the lower grade showed a moderate proficiency rate, while the upper grade was lower. Because this is a single year of data, no trend is available. The school’s overall proficiency index, combining all tested subjects and grades, places it in the bottom quartile relative to districts in Marion County. A parent may want to ask the school about the drop in math proficiency between early and later grades and about any supports in place for middle and high school students.

The student body is overwhelmingly white, with only small numbers of Hispanic, Asian, Black, and multiracial students. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic context of a town with a contracting population and a relatively limited local job base. Data on students with disabilities and English learners were not reported in the available records, so a parent should check directly with the school about those supports. The school serves all grades from PK through 12, so it covers the full K-12 span under one roof, though the physical separation of elementary and high school buildings means students move between sites at some point.

For high school families, a graduation rate was not available in the data for this profile, which is an unusual gap for a school that serves twelfth grade. Similarly, there was no information on advanced coursework, dual enrollment, career and technical education pathways, or college readiness programs. Without that information, a parent evaluating the high school experience should request details directly from the school about course offerings, graduation requirements, and postsecondary support. No data on chronic absenteeism, discipline, or staffing was provided either.

Brilliant School operates as a regular public school within the Marion County district. No recent district-wide changes were identified in publicly available sources. The school’s setting is rural, its enrollment is small, and its academic profile shows strong early elementary results that give way to more uneven performance in later grades. Families considering the school will want to explore what the middle and high school experience looks like in practice, particularly given the limited public data on graduation and programming.

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Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

>=80%Cohort of 23 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 377%

School 77% · District 69% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▲ 34 pts above state median

Grade 433%

School 33% · District 58% · ▼ 25 pts below district

▼ 4 pts below state median

Grade 542%

School 42% · District 52% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▲ 9 pts above state median

Grade 617%

School 17% · District 43% · ▼ 26 pts below district

▼ 12 pts below state median

Grade 77%

School 7% · District 25% · ▼ 18 pts below district

▼ 10 pts below state median

Grade 820%

School 20% · District 28% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▲ 5 pts above state median

English language arts

Grade 377%

School 77% · District 79% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▲ 11 pts above state median

Grade 456%

School 56% · District 74% · ▼ 19 pts below district

▼ 3 pts below state median

Grade 561%

School 61% · District 72% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▼ 6 pts below state median

Grade 650%

School 50% · District 71% · ▼ 21 pts below district

▼ 5 pts below state median

Grade 757%

School 57% · District 66% · ▼ 9 pts below district

▲ 3 pts above state median

Grade 873%

School 73% · District 64% · ▲ 9 pts above district

▲ 21 pts above state median

Science

Grade 456%

School 56% · District 62% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▲ 17 pts above state median

Grade 836%

School 36% · District 45% · ▼ 9 pts below district

▲ 1 pts above state median

This schoolMarion 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.