The top reported proficiency rate is 0% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Carroll High School
Carroll High School is the sole high school within the Ozark City district, serving grades nine through twelve as a regular public school. Its student body is roughly evenly split between Black and white students, with a smaller share of Hispanic students and a handful of students from other racial backgrounds. More than half of the students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a marker of the economic circumstances many families in the area face. The school sits in a community where the local economy is heavily shaped by the presence of Fort Novosel, the U.S. Army Aviation Center, which is the city’s largest employer and a primary driver of employment.
On state assessments, Carroll’s results are low. Across the tested subjects—English language arts, math, and science—the percentages of students reaching the proficient level are far below state averages. Compared to other districts in Dale County, the school’s overall proficiency index lands in the bottom quartile. The data provided for this school includes assessment results only for the middle-school grades of seven and eight, not for the high school grades it actually serves; this mismatch suggests either a data reporting issue or that the school also educates some younger students, but the available figures still point to weak academic performance relative to statewide benchmarks. Parents should be aware that the school’s own state-tested outcomes are notably low.
Graduation rate data for Carroll specifically was not available in the materials reviewed, but a publicly reported indicator for the Ozark City district as a whole shows that the district’s four-year graduation rate has dropped significantly over a five-year period, a pattern that raises questions about student persistence and support through high school. The district brief notes this decline as the most concrete finding regarding academic trends, though it is not broken out by individual school.
The local housing market is modest. Home values in the Ozark area sit well below the national median, and rents are relatively affordable by national standards. The city’s population has been essentially flat or slightly declining in recent years, and the built environment is car-dependent with little public transit. Civic life centers on a historic downtown, but school campuses are spread across the city’s roughly thirty-four square miles. No major new housing developments or growth projects were identified in available searches.
Carroll High School offers no detailed program information in the data provided—there is no list of Advanced Placement, dual-enrollment, career-technical, or other specialized course offerings. Similarly, data on discipline, chronic absenteeism, staffing ratios, and special education or English learner populations were missing from the materials used for this profile. That absence means families cannot easily assess the breadth of academic pathways available to students or the level of support for different learning needs.
This is a high school in a small, economically stable city that has seen a notable drop in its district graduation rate and whose state test scores are among the lowest in the county. The school serves a majority low-income student body in a community with a strong military connection and affordable housing. A parent considering this school would want to follow up directly with the district on questions of course offerings, student support services, and the specific graduation rate for Carroll itself, as well as any efforts underway to improve academic outcomes.
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