The top reported proficiency rate is 79% in English language arts. The lowest is 31% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Carver Elementary School
Carver Elementary School is a regular public school in Montgomery, Alabama, serving students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. It sits in the city’s west side, part of the Montgomery County district. Montgomery itself is a mid-sized state capital with a government core, Maxwell Air Force Base, higher education institutions, and manufacturing anchors such as Hyundai. The city’s downtown has seen revitalization and new urbanism projects along the Alabama River, but the broader area remains car-dependent. For families considering Carver, the school draws from a neighborhood where housing is modest in value and median incomes are below national averages, though the area has a stable employment base from state government and the military.
The student body is predominantly Black, with a small share of Hispanic students and a very small white enrollment. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic context of the surrounding neighborhood. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about how those populations are supported.
Academically, Carver presents a mixed picture that varies noticeably by grade and subject. In English language arts, proficiency rates are strong across the board. Third-grade results are particularly high, and fourth- and fifth-grade scores also show a solid majority of students meeting state standards. This suggests that reading and writing instruction is a clear strength of the school. In mathematics, the pattern is more uneven. Third-grade math proficiency is also strong, but fourth- and fifth-grade math scores drop considerably, with fewer than half of students at the proficient level. Science, tested in fourth grade, shows a similar soft spot, with proficiency below half. The dip in math and science in the upper elementary grades is something a parent would want to explore further with the school, perhaps by asking about curriculum, intervention supports, or teacher turnover in those grades.
Compared to other districts in Montgomery County, Carver’s overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades places it in the top quartile. That is a meaningful position given that the county contains multiple districts. It indicates that Carver’s performance is among the stronger elementary schools in the area, even with the upper-grade math and science challenges. The school does not have a magnet or charter designation, so it functions as a neighborhood school in the district. No recent district-wide changes affecting parents were publicly reported, and the school has no disciplinary, staffing, or chronic absenteeism data available in the source information, so those dimensions remain unexamined here.
For a family weighing Carver, the academic picture points to a school with clear literacy strengths but uneven math and science performance in the intermediate grades. The high share of students from lower-income households means the school likely receives federal Title I support, though that status was not confirmed in the data. The neighborhood itself is moderately priced relative to the national housing market, and the city offers a range of civic and cultural anchors, from the Alabama State Capitol to the National Memorial for Peace and Justice. Parents who value a school with strong early reading outcomes and are willing to stay engaged on math and science in the later elementary years may find Carver a reasonable fit. Those seeking a school with uniformly high math results or a broader suite of enrichment programs would need to look further into what the school offers beyond the tested subjects.
See more original research from School Decision →