Bb Comer Memorial Elementary School, Sylacauga AL

Original Research by School Decision on Bb Comer Memorial Elementary School

BB Comer Memorial Elementary School serves students from prekindergarten through sixth grade in Sylacauga, a small industrial city in Talladega County. It is a regular public school within the Talladega County school system. The school enrolls a population that is predominantly white, with a notable share of Black students and smaller Hispanic and multiracial groups. A high proportion of students come from families with low incomes, as reflected in the share qualifying for free or reduced-price meals.

Academically, BB Comer Memorial Elementary’s overall performance across tested subjects and grades places it among the strongest in its county, based on state assessment data from the 2024-25 school year. That overall reading, though, masks variation by grade and subject. In English language arts, the school shows solid to strong results in grades three through five, with a noticeably lower point in grade six. Math proficiency is more uneven: grade four stands out as a relative bright spot, while grades three and five are considerably weaker. Grade six math falls somewhere in between. Science, assessed in grade four, lands at a moderate level. Because only one year of assessment data is available, there is no basis to say whether performance is improving or declining.

The building houses a sizable enrollment, with about three-quarters of students qualifying for income-based meal assistance. This economic context is typical of the community. Sylacauga’s economy has long been anchored by marble quarrying and processing, along with manufacturing, an ice cream plant, and retail. The city’s population has been essentially flat or slightly declining in recent decades. Housing in the area is affordable relative to state and national benchmarks, and the local rental market is softer than the for-sale market.

No data were available on chronic absenteeism, discipline, staffing, or course access for this school. The district brief turned up no notable recent changes in the Talladega County system that would be immediately relevant to a family considering this school. Likewise, no information on special education or English learner populations was reported in the available records.

BB Comer Memorial Elementary is a school where a family will find a generally strong ELA program, especially through the early elementary years, alongside math performance that is not as consistent and would merit a closer look from parents concerned about that subject. The student body reflects a community with modest household incomes, and the school itself is operating in a stable, slow-growth small city. For those looking at this school, the main academic conversation points are the contrast between reading and math, and the drop in reading proficiency that appears by sixth grade. Families may want to ask the school directly about the supports in place for math instruction and for the transition to middle school.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 316%

School 16% · District 33% · ▼ 17 pts below district

▼ 27 pts below state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

Grade 454%

School 54% · District 39% · ▲ 14 pts above district

▲ 16 pts above state median · ▲ 17 pts above county median

Grade 528%

School 28% · District 36% · ▼ 8 pts below district

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

Grade 639%

School 39% · District 34% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▲ 11 pts above state median

English language arts

Grade 371%

School 71% · District 67% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▲ 4 pts above county median

Grade 479%

School 79% · District 66% · ▲ 13 pts above district

▲ 20 pts above state median · ▲ 13 pts above county median

Grade 582%

School 82% · District 74% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▲ 15 pts above state median · ▲ 11 pts above county median

Grade 665%

School 65% · District 58% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 10 pts above state median

Science

Grade 452%

School 52% · District 40% · ▲ 12 pts above district

▲ 14 pts above state median · ▲ 16 pts above county median

This schoolTalladega 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.