The top reported proficiency rate is 45% in English language arts. The lowest is 15% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Meadowview Elementary School
Selma is a small city where the economy has struggled for decades and the population has been declining for about sixty years. Meadowview Elementary School sits in this setting, serving students from kindergarten through sixth grade as a regular public school within the Selma City district. The student body is overwhelmingly African-American, and a substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, which aligns with the city's broader economic challenges, where poverty is widespread and median household income is well below state and national averages.
The school's academic results on Alabama's state assessments present an uneven picture that a parent will want to examine closely. In English language arts, third graders had results that reached a level many families would consider solid, with more than half of students meeting proficiency. Fifth graders also showed a similar share in that range. By sixth grade, that share dropped. Fourth-grade reading results were much lower, with roughly a quarter of students scoring proficient. In mathematics, results were consistently below half across every grade, with fourth grade posting a very low proficiency rate. The one grade tested in science, fourth grade, also produced a low proficiency rate. When taken together across all tested subjects and grades, the school's overall proficiency index lands in the top quartile when placed against the two districts that make up the Dallas County comparison set. That is a narrow field, and the position reflects that the school's combined average is higher than the other district's, not that performance is strong by a wider state or national standard. Because this is the only year of testing data available in the profile, there is no trend line to show whether these results are improving or declining.
The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report. Information on special education identification, English learner services, and chronic absenteeism was not available. A parent who wants to understand how Meadowview supports students who are behind academically, or how it serves students with disabilities, would need to ask the school directly.
The community context matters here. Housing in Selma is very affordable relative to the state and nation, with home values that are a fraction of the Alabama median and far below the national figure. That affordability, however, reflects the city's deep economic distress and population loss. The January 2023 tornado caused heavy damage to many buildings, adding to long-standing disinvestment. Jobs are concentrated in government, the school district itself, and healthcare. Heritage tourism is a stated focus, but the city is not adding new housing or growing its tax base in a way that signals new investment in public infrastructure.
Selma City Schools has publicly reported a strategic plan centered on literacy, college and career readiness, and social-emotional learning, which gives families a sense of the district's current priorities. The district also reorganized its secondary schools, establishing R.B. Hudson STEAM Academy as a dedicated middle school with a STEM and arts focus. For a parent of an elementary-age child at Meadowview, those district-level decisions suggest that the pipeline after sixth grade will involve a STEAM-oriented middle school, which may be a relevant factor for families weighing long-term fit.
Meadowview is a school where the community's economic strain is direct and visible in the student demographic data, and where state test results show real challenges, particularly in mathematics and science, with reading results that vary sharply by grade. A parent considering this school should plan to talk with the principal and teachers about how the school is approaching foundational skills in math and reading, and how it supports students who are not yet at grade level. The school is not hiding behind strong averages; the numbers tell a straightforward story of a building where most students are not meeting state proficiency benchmarks, and where the early elementary reading results offer a partial bright spot that does not carry through consistently.
See more original research from School Decision →