Elvin Hill Elementary School, Columbiana AL

Original Research by School Decision on Elvin Hill Elementary School

Elvin Hill Elementary serves kindergarten through fifth grade in Columbiana, the county seat of Shelby County. Columbiana itself is a small town built around a historic courthouse square, with a mix of older neighborhoods near downtown and newer residential areas spreading outward. The city has been growing steadily in recent years, and it functions as a government hub, housing the county school board, sheriff's office, and regional library. The school sits on a separate campus from the district’s middle and high schools, which is typical for the area.

The student body is largely white, with a noticeable share of Black and Hispanic students making up most of the remainder, and small numbers of students identifying as multiracial, American Indian, or Asian. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, placing the school in a higher-poverty context relative to many schools in the region. Data on the share of students with disabilities or those learning English was not available, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about the resources available for these groups.

On state assessments, the results show a clear pattern. In English language arts, proficiency rates in third and fifth grade are solid, with a large majority of students meeting the bar. Fourth-grade ELA dips notably, landing below half proficient. In math, the numbers are softer across all three tested grades, with the highest proficiency in third grade and a steady decline through fourth and fifth. Science is tested only in fourth grade, and slightly fewer than half of students were proficient. Compared with other elementary schools across districts in Shelby County, the school’s overall proficiency index lands in the bottom quartile. This is a position worth noting. The district-level picture is stable: publicly reported information shows no major recent changes to curriculum, boundaries, or leadership that would alter the trajectory in a clear direction.

The school itself is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet. Because it serves only elementary grades, there is no graduation rate to report, and there is no data on chronic absenteeism or discipline, so a family interested in those areas would need to follow up with the school directly. Housing in the area is priced above the national median, though still at a level that may feel accessible compared to bigger metro areas. The local unemployment rate is moderate, and median household incomes in the broader economy have been trending upward in recent years.

For a family considering Elvin Hill, the picture is mixed. The school serves a high-need student population and shows real strength in early elementary reading, where a majority of third graders are proficient. Math proficiency and fourth-grade reading are areas where the school is weaker, and the overall academic standing relative to other Shelby County elementary schools is on the lower end. The community is a growing small town with a strong civic core and lake access, and the school is part of a county district where the elementary years feed into a separate middle and high school sequence. A parent may want to explore what supplemental math and reading supports are in place, and how the school addresses the dip in fourth-grade performance, to get a fuller sense of whether the school fits their child’s needs.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 344%

School 44% · District 54% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

Grade 437%

School 37% · District 51% · ▼ 14 pts below district

even with state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

Grade 531%

School 31% · District 55% · ▼ 24 pts below district

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▼ 15 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 367%

School 67% · District 75% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

Grade 449%

School 49% · District 68% · ▼ 19 pts below district

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 19 pts below county median

Grade 565%

School 65% · District 80% · ▼ 15 pts below district

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

Science

Grade 445%

School 45% · District 53% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▲ 7 pts above state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

This schoolShelby 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.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 4Lower-income39%Higher-income66%26 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income37%Higher-income58%21 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income20%Higher-income55%35 pp gap