The top reported proficiency rate is 42% in English language arts. The lowest is 15% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Holloway Elementary
Holloway Elementary is a regular public school serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in the city of Mobile, Alabama. It operates within the Mobile County school system, the countywide district. The school serves a substantial enrollment for the elementary grade band, drawing from a residential area with a distinct economic and demographic profile.
Nearly all students at Holloway qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, placing the school in a high-poverty context. The student body is overwhelmingly composed of Black students, with very small shares of white students, Hispanic students, and students identifying as two or more races. The school does not report data on special education or English learner enrollment, a gap that a parent may want to clarify with the school directly.
The academic picture from state testing reflects real challenges. Holloway’s proficiency rates on the Alabama ACAP in math, English language arts, and science are all below the midpoint relative to other districts in Mobile County. Math proficiency is particularly low across the tested grades, with a small share of students meeting the bar. English language arts shows somewhat higher proficiency, but still falls well short of the county median. Science results, available for fourth grade only, are also low. Because this is the first year of data in the trend series, no multi-year direction can be discerned; the school’s performance appears to be at a baseline from which improvement would need to be demonstrated.
The school’s setting in Mobile shapes the context families will experience. Mobile is a mid-size port city and a regional economic hub, with major industrial employers including aerospace manufacturing, shipbuilding, and port operations. The city has a deep historic core with walkable areas downtown along Dauphin Street, but most of the city, including Holloway’s neighborhood, is car-dependent with suburban-style development. The city underwent a major western annexation in 2023 that increased its population and shifted its demographics. Housing in Holloway’s zip code is notably affordable compared to state and national benchmarks; home values have seen a modest recent decline, while rents relative to income are moderate. A parent moving to the area for affordability should be aware that the local housing market presents a lower-cost entry point than many other parts of Alabama or the country.
Holloway is a Title I-eligible school, and the neighborhood comparison places its academic proficiency index below the midpoint among the county’s districts. The school does not have a magnet or charter status. It offers a standard elementary curriculum from pre-K through fifth grade. Data on course access, discipline, staffing, attendance, and chronic absenteeism were not available for this profile, so a parent should inquire about class sizes, teacher experience, and support for students who may need extra academic help.
For a family weighing this school, Holloway represents a high-need elementary serving a predominantly low-income community with below-average test outcomes at this point. The strengths lie in the broader community context of Mobile, a city with cultural assets, economic diversity, and relatively low housing costs. The school itself offers a typical elementary pathway with no special programs or designations that would change the academic offering. A parent looking for a school with a track record of strong academic results may find limited options here, while a parent who is focused on affordability and community setting may want to visit and see how the school’s staff and programs address the challenges reflected in the test data.
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