The top reported proficiency rate is 71% in English language arts. The lowest is 46% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Coldwater Elementary School
Coldwater Elementary School serves children from prekindergarten through fourth grade in the Anniston area. It is a regular public school in the Oxford City district. Because it only covers the early elementary years, there is no graduation rate to report and no high-school-level measures such as course access or college-readiness data.
The school enrollment is modest for its grade band, and the student body is predominantly white, with Hispanic and Black students each making up a substantial share. A majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a high level of economic need. Data on special education and English learner enrollment were not available. The school does not have a charter or magnet designation.
Coldwater’s academic picture comes from Alabama’s state assessments in the 2024-25 school year, and the results vary noticeably by grade and subject. In third grade, English language arts proficiency was strong, and math proficiency in third grade was also solidly above the midpoint. By fourth grade, however, math proficiency dropped off sharply, while fourth-grade English language arts remained above the midpoint. Fourth-grade science proficiency fell in between these two. Because the school does not have older grades, this is the full testing picture; a multi-year trend is not yet available since this is the only year of data present. On the whole, the school’s overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades placed it in the top quartile relative to districts in Calhoun County. That county-level comparison set includes five districts.
Coldwater is located in Anniston, a mid-sized city that is the county seat of Calhoun County and serves as a regional center for government, commerce, and culture in northeast Alabama. The city was founded as a private iron company town and retains a mix of industrial heritage and residential neighborhoods. It sits on the slope of Blue Mountain in the foothills of the Appalachians, and Interstate 20 runs to the south. Downtown Anniston centers on Noble Street, home to the Calhoun County Courthouse and the U.S. Courthouse, and the city is a designated Main Street Alabama community, indicating organized downtown revitalization. The Chief Ladiga Trail, Alabama’s first extended rails-to-trails project, runs through the city.
Major employers include the Anniston Army Depot, which opened during World War II as a weapons storage and maintenance site and continues that role. The former Fort McClellan, which was once the city’s largest employer, was decommissioned and incorporated into the city; its land now hosts the Alabama National Guard Training Center, the Center for Domestic Preparedness under the Department of Homeland Security, and the Mountain Longleaf National Wildlife Refuge. The Anniston Museums and Gardens, a Smithsonian Affiliate, is a civic anchor, and the Freedom Riders National Monument is located nearby. Anniston adopted a Comprehensive Plan in 2022, and the city is often described as one of the most affordable places to live in the United States. The housing market in the immediate area reflects that affordability, with home values well below state and national benchmarks. The population has declined from its mid-20th century peak, and the city is smaller than it once was.
The parent district, Oxford City, covers Anniston as well as Hobson City and Oxford. No recent district-wide changes of lasting impact were found in publicly reported information. The school itself has no additional program data available. For a family considering Coldwater, the key takeaway is that it is a small, early-elementary school in an affordable, economically modest city, with a testing record that shows strong early literacy in third grade yet a notable drop in fourth-grade math that a parent may want to look into further with the school.
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