Johnson Elementary School, Montgomery AL

Original Research by School Decision on Johnson Elementary School

Johnson Elementary School is a regular public school in Montgomery, Alabama, serving students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. It is part of the Montgomery County public school district. The school is located on Narrow Lane Road in a residential section of the city.

The student body is predominantly Black, with a smaller share of Hispanic students and a very small number of students identifying as two or more races. A substantial share of students qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a high-poverty population. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not reported, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about special education and language support services.

Academic performance on Alabama’s state assessments in the most recent school year shows that proficiency rates are low across tested subjects and grade levels. In English language arts, the share of students meeting proficiency standards varied by grade but generally fell below a third, with the highest rate in third grade and lower rates in fourth and fifth. In mathematics, proficiency was markedly lower: the rate declined steeply from third grade to fourth, and no tested fifth-grade students reached the proficiency threshold. Science scores for fourth grade were also low. Overall proficiency across all tested subjects and grades places Johnson Elementary below the midpoint when compared relative to districts in Montgomery County. Only one year of assessment data was available for the school, so trends over time could not be examined. Because the school serves only elementary grades, there is no graduation rate to report.

Montgomery is a mid-sized state capital with a mix of government employment, a major military installation at Maxwell Air Force Base, higher education institutions, and manufacturing, most notably a large Hyundai plant. Downtown Montgomery has seen revitalization with new urbanism projects, a riverfront park, and cultural anchors such as the Alabama Shakespeare Festival and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice. However, aside from a walkable downtown core, the broader city is car-dependent. Housing in the area around the school is relatively affordable when set against state and national benchmarks, with home values and rents below average for Alabama and the country overall. A parent considering the school would find Montgomery a city with a significant public-sector and industrial economic base, though the school’s immediate neighborhood reflects the demographics and income levels noted above.

No information was available on the school’s academic programs, such as whether it offers art, music, or physical education, or any enrichment activities. Similarly, data on discipline, staffing ratios, and chronic absenteeism were absent. A parent researching the school should contact the school or district for details on these topics.

Johnson Elementary is a school serving a high-poverty community where academic achievement on state tests is well below the county average. For a family considering this school, a closer look at classroom supports, curriculum, and how the school addresses the academic needs reflected in the assessment results would be worthwhile. The school does not have magnet or charter status. It provides a traditional elementary program in a city with a dense array of civic and cultural resources nearby.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 319%

School 19% · District 28% · ▼ 9 pts below district

▼ 24 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 48%

School 8% · District 24% · ▼ 16 pts below district

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

Grade 50%

School 0% · District 22% · ▼ 22 pts below district

▼ 33 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 336%

School 36% · District 42% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 29 pts below state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Grade 428%

School 28% · District 44% · ▼ 16 pts below district

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

Grade 533%

School 33% · District 50% · ▼ 16 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 418%

School 18% · District 26% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▼ 21 pts below state median · even with county median

This schoolMontgomery 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 4Lower-income9%Higher-income0%9 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income0%Higher-income0%0 pp gap