Cl Scarborough Model Middle School, Mobile AL

Original Research by School Decision on Cl Scarborough Model Middle School

CL Scarborough Model Middle School is a regular public school in Mobile, Alabama, serving grades six through eight. It operates within the Mobile County school system, the public district covering the entire county. As a middle school, it does not report a graduation rate, nor does the data indicate whether it provides the high school-level pathways a parent might look for in a combined or K-12 setting.

The school's student body is one of its most defining characteristics. The enrollment is large for a middle school, and the student population is overwhelmingly Black, with a much smaller share of white and Hispanic students. A very substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, placing the school in a high-poverty context by any measure. Data on the share of students with individualized education plans or English learner status was not available, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about how those populations are supported.

Academically, CL Scarborough Model Middle School faces significant challenges. On the state's ACAP assessments, proficiency rates in mathematics were low across all three tested grades, with a combined proficiency index for the school that places it in the bottom quartile among districts in Mobile County. Reading and English language arts scores were stronger, though still below the midpoint of what the county's districts show. In science, tested in eighth grade, proficiency was also low. The data reflects only a single school year, 2024-25, so there is no trend line to say whether these results represent a stable pattern or a recent downturn. A parent should consider these results carefully and may want to discuss intervention strategies and academic support offerings with the school.

The school sits in Mobile, a mid-size port city that functions as a regional economic hub for the Gulf Coast. Major industries include port operations, aerospace manufacturing, and shipbuilding. The city has a large concentration of historic architecture and is known as a cultural center, with art museums and professional performing arts organizations. Walkability and street life are concentrated in downtown Mobile, particularly along Dauphin Street, but the city's large geographic footprint means most areas are car-dependent. The most significant recent growth event was a 2023 west annexation that increased the city's population and shifted its demographics. Housing values in the surrounding area are modest, below the state benchmark, and have been essentially flat or slightly declining.

The school's name includes "Model," which may suggest a particular pedagogical approach or a relationship with the University of South Alabama, but the data does not provide any details on programs, electives, or a specific curriculum model. A parent looking for enrichment offerings, arts programs, or career exploration at the middle school level may want to follow up with the school directly for that information. The district brief turned up no notable recent changes to the system that would affect a family's decision. In total, CL Scarborough Model Middle School serves a high-poverty student population and presents a profile of academic performance that a parent new to the area would want to investigate in depth, particularly in mathematics, to see what support structures are in place.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 614%

School 14% · District 25% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▼ 15 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 73%

School 3% · District 19% · ▼ 15 pts below district

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 85%

School 5% · District 18% · ▼ 13 pts below district

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

English language arts

Grade 636%

School 36% · District 49% · ▼ 13 pts below district

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

Grade 746%

School 46% · District 53% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▼ 8 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 835%

School 35% · District 52% · ▼ 17 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 820%

School 20% · District 40% · ▼ 19 pts below district

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

This schoolMobile 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

Mathematics

Grade 8Lower-income6%Higher-income0%6 pp gap