Wadley High School, Wadley AL - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Wadley High School

Wadley High School is a single-building PK–12 public school in a small, rural east-central Alabama town. It serves the children of Wadley and the surrounding unincorporated areas of Randolph County. Because it covers every grade from pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade in one building, the student experience is shaped by a long familiarity: students who start here as four-year-olds will, if they stay, graduate with the same cohort they began with.

The school’s academic profile on the 2024–25 state assessments shows a clear split by subject. In English language arts, proficiency rates across grades three through eight were mixed but included some strong individual grade-level results, with one grade posting a rate well above half and another markedly higher. Across all tested grades combined, the school’s ELA proficiency sat near the midpoint of the range one might see in a typical Alabama school of this size. In math, the picture was much softer: proficiency rates were low across every tested grade, with several grades reporting no students reaching the proficient level. The combined math proficiency rate was in single digits. Science results for grades four and eight placed proficiency in the range you would expect from a school where math attainment is a known challenge. These results place the school’s overall proficiency index in the bottom quartile relative to the two other districts in Randolph County; that comparison set is small, so the gap appears wide.

A parent looking at these numbers will want to ask the school directly about what math instruction and support look like, how the school identifies students who are behind, and what interventions are in place. The data covers only one year, so there is no trend to examine. The ELA results suggest that some grade levels are performing quite well in reading and writing, which may point to strong teaching in those areas even as math remains a struggle.

The school is a regular public school; it is not a charter school, and its magnet and Title I status are not reported in the data we have. The student body is predominantly white, with a substantial Black minority, a smaller Hispanic population, and a handful of students of other backgrounds. A considerable majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating that the school serves a community with significant economic need. We looked for data on special education and English learner populations but did not find it reported; a parent would want to ask about those supports directly.

Wadley itself is a small town with a rural Southern character, shaped by its history as a railroad stop and by the presence of Southern Union State Community College, which maintains a campus in town and is a major local employer alongside a wrought-iron furniture manufacturer. The town’s economy has weathered the closure and reopening of that factory and has secured grants for infrastructure improvements. Housing values in the area are well below the Alabama state median, and the national median is substantially higher still, which reflects the broader economic context of this part of the state.

Because the school covers all grades in one building, the peer environment is a single, continuous community of students from the youngest through the oldest. This can be a comfortable fit for families who want siblings in the same building and for students who benefit from consistency. It also means that the high school is very small, which shapes course offerings: a small high school cannot offer the same breadth of Advanced Placement or elective options that a larger school can, though publicly reported information about specific program offerings was not available in the data we received.

We searched for recent district-level changes or strategic priorities from Randolph County and found little of lasting impact to report. The district brief came up empty, so this narrative does not include any district context beyond what is embedded in the school’s own data.

Wadley High School is a school where a family will want to have a direct conversation with the principal and teachers about academic support, particularly in math, and about what the high school can offer in terms of course pathways and college or career preparation. The town is small, affordable, and tightly knit, and the school sits at its center. For a family that values a single-building, K–12 setting in a rural community and is prepared to be an active partner in their child’s math education, this school may be a solid fit.

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Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

>=80%Cohort of 25 students · Class of 2021

The federal source publishes a banded range instead of an exact rate when the graduating cohort is small enough that an exact number could risk identifying individual students.

How this school compares to all schools in this state

Each dot is one school’s SY 2020-21 graduation rate, binned by integer rate. Taller columns mean more schools at that rate. This school is highlighted.

373 schools plotted. 7 additional schools' rates are federally suppressed and not shown. Data: EDFacts SY 2020-21.

Math

Grade 319%

School 19% · District 43% · ▼ 23 pts below district

▼ 24 pts below state median

Grade 40%

School 0% · District 31% · ▼ 31 pts below district

▼ 37 pts below state median

Grade 511%

School 11% · District 22% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▼ 22 pts below state median

Grade 614%

School 14% · District 27% · ▼ 13 pts below district

▼ 14 pts below state median

Grade 79%

School 9% · District 13% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▼ 7 pts below state median

Grade 80%

School 0% · District 10% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▼ 15 pts below state median

English language arts

Grade 348%

School 48% · District 67% · ▼ 19 pts below district

▼ 18 pts below state median

Grade 461%

School 61% · District 63% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▲ 3 pts above state median

Grade 583%

School 83% · District 63% · ▲ 20 pts above district

▲ 17 pts above state median

Grade 638%

School 38% · District 60% · ▼ 22 pts below district

▼ 17 pts below state median

Grade 753%

School 53% · District 59% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 1 pts below state median

Grade 852%

School 52% · District 57% · ▼ 4 pts below district

even with state median

Science

Grade 444%

School 44% · District 41% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 5 pts above state median

Grade 839%

School 39% · District 32% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 4 pts above state median

This schoolRandolph 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.