J U Blacksher School, Uriah AL - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on J U Blacksher School

J U Blacksher School serves the rural unincorporated community of Uriah in southern Monroe County, Alabama, as a single K-12 campus that is effectively the town's central civic institution. There is no downtown district in Uriah, and the school, named after one of the community's founders, has been rebuilt and expanded on its present site multiple times since the mid-20th century, with classroom wings added in later years. The surrounding economy is built on agriculture and timber, and the community itself has experienced a population decline in recent decades. The school's campus, with its football stadium and baseball field, functions as the primary gathering place for a very small, spread-out population where personal vehicles are essential for getting around.

This is a regular public school with a sizable enrollment for its grade span. The student body has a white majority and a substantial American Indian or Alaska Native population, with smaller shares of Black, Hispanic, and multiracial students. A large majority of students come from low-income households, as reflected in the share qualifying for free or reduced-price meals.

Academically, the school's state assessment results show a mixed picture that varies sharply by subject and grade level. In English language arts, proficiency rates across tested elementary and middle grades are scattered, with some grades reaching levels that would be considered solid and others dipping to levels that likely give a parent pause. The pattern in mathematics is more consistently low, with proficiency falling off notably after the early elementary grades. Science results are available for two tested grades and show a wide spread. Because this is the only year of data available for this assessment, there is no trend to examine, and the school may be in an early phase of understanding its performance on these measures. A parent with a child approaching middle school would want to look into what academic supports the school offers, particularly in math, where the drop-off is steepest.

The school covers pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade on a single campus, which means a child could spend their entire academic career in one building with the same peer group. This continuity can be a draw for families who value a close-knit, multi-generational school environment. Because the school serves all grades, it does not have a separate high school graduation rate to report in a traditional sense, and state testing data for high school grades was not available in the provided data. A parent considering this school for a secondary student would want to ask directly about course offerings, college and career pathways, and post-graduation outcomes.

No recent parent-relevant changes to the Monroe County district, such as curriculum shifts, school consolidations, or property-tax measures, were found in publicly available sources. For a family weighing a move to Uriah, the key factors are straightforward: this is a single, rural K-12 school that anchors a small, declining community, with academic results that are strongest in early-grade reading and weakest in middle-grade math. The setting will appeal to families who want their children in a small, stable environment where the school is the center of local life, but the proficiency numbers, particularly in math across multiple grades, are soft enough that a parent should seek a direct conversation with the school about how it addresses those gaps.

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Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

80-89%Cohort of 52 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 338%

School 38% · District 31% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▼ 5 pts below state median

Grade 420%

School 20% · District 24% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 17 pts below state median

Grade 547%

School 47% · District 30% · ▲ 17 pts above district

▲ 14 pts above state median

Grade 636%

School 36% · District 23% · ▲ 14 pts above district

▲ 8 pts above state median

Grade 75%

School 5% · District 8% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 12 pts below state median

Grade 814%

School 14% · District 16% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 2 pts below state median

English language arts

Grade 378%

School 78% · District 67% · ▲ 12 pts above district

▲ 13 pts above state median

Grade 438%

School 38% · District 43% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 21 pts below state median

Grade 569%

School 69% · District 62% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 2 pts above state median

Grade 657%

School 57% · District 48% · ▲ 9 pts above district

▲ 2 pts above state median

Grade 740%

School 40% · District 44% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▼ 13 pts below state median

Grade 846%

School 46% · District 41% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▼ 6 pts below state median

Science

Grade 422%

School 22% · District 28% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 16 pts below state median

Grade 853%

School 53% · District 35% · ▲ 18 pts above district

▲ 18 pts above state median

This schoolMonroe 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-income54%Higher-income61%7 pp gap