Mountain Brook Elementary School, Mountain Brook AL

Original Research by School Decision on Mountain Brook Elementary School

Mountain Brook Elementary School is a regular public school in Jefferson County, Alabama, serving students from pre-kindergarten through sixth grade. It is one of four elementary schools in the Mountain Brook City School District, a system that the city describes as one of the top in the state. The school sits in a community that is a primarily residential suburb of Birmingham, developed with estate-sized lots along winding scenic roads, with five distinct shopping villages rather than a single downtown. The city has a very high concentration of business and professional leaders, and it has been ranked among the wealthiest communities in the country.

On state assessments, the school’s performance is very strong. Across tested subjects and grades, the overall proficiency rate places Mountain Brook Elementary in the top quartile among all districts in Jefferson County. In English language arts, the share of students meeting proficiency is extremely high in every tested grade, from third through sixth grade. In mathematics, proficiency rates are also high, though slightly lower than in ELA, and they remain well above the county median. Science, tested in fourth grade, shows similarly high results. No multi-year trend data is available; the only year of test results comes from the 2024-25 school year, so a parent may want to ask the school for longer-term patterns.

The student body is small for an elementary school covering seven grade levels. It is made up almost entirely of students who are white, with a very small number of Asian, Hispanic, Black, and multiracial students. A very modest share of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, suggesting a predominantly affluent population. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not reported in the available records, so a family with those needs would want to ask about supports directly.

The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report. No information on chronic absenteeism, discipline, staffing, or course access was available for this profile. The parent district, Mountain Brook City, appears to have had no major recent changes that would be relevant to families.

The housing market in Mountain Brook reflects the community’s wealth. Home values are among the highest in the state and far above national benchmarks. Rents are also very high. The estimated monthly mortgage payment and rent both represent a substantial share of a typical household income. The city is nearly fully built out, with most land developed for residential use, and the vacancy rate is very low, meaning housing stock is tight. These conditions mean that living in the attendance zone for this school is financially out of reach for many households.

For a family looking at Mountain Brook Elementary, the academic picture is clear: this is a school with a very high rate of students meeting state standards, and it sits in a district that is well regarded regionally. The peer environment is homogeneous in income and racial background, which may be a factor families weigh when choosing a school. The setting is suburban, forested, and auto-oriented, with walkable commercial villages. Because program offerings and extracurricular details were not included in the available data, a parent who cares about specific enrichment or special education options should explore those directly with the school. The absence of multi-year test trends also means one year’s strong results do not yet show a pattern of sustained growth, though the single year is certainly encouraging.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 382%

School 82% · District 87% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▲ 39 pts above state median · ▲ 51 pts above county median

Grade 476%

School 76% · District 84% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▲ 39 pts above state median · ▲ 51 pts above county median

Grade 584%

School 84% · District 87% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▲ 50 pts above state median · ▲ 58 pts above county median

Grade 679%

School 79% · District 83% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▲ 50 pts above state median · ▲ 71 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 397%

School 97% · District 98%

▲ 32 pts above state median · ▲ 43 pts above county median

Grade 492%

School 92% · District 92% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▲ 33 pts above state median · ▲ 41 pts above county median

Grade 599%

School 99% · District 98% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 32 pts above state median · ▲ 42 pts above county median

Grade 693%

School 93% · District 92%

▲ 37 pts above state median · ▲ 51 pts above county median

Science

Grade 488%

School 88% · District 83% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▲ 50 pts above state median · ▲ 63 pts above county median

This schoolMountain Brook City, 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 3Lower-income100%Higher-income97%3 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income100%Higher-income99%1 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income100%Higher-income92%8 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income100%Higher-income82%18 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income100%Higher-income83%17 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income100%Higher-income79%21 pp gap