Southside Middle School, Tallassee AL

Original Research by School Decision on Southside Middle School

Southside Middle School serves fifth through eighth grade in Tallassee, a small town on the Tallapoosa River that was historically a textile mill town. The mill closure removed a major employer, and the town’s population has been declining slightly in recent years. Today, the local economy is anchored by the Community Hospital, Alabama Power’s Thurlow Dam hydroelectric plant, and the city school district itself. Tallassee retains a family-oriented, small-town feel with a historic commercial district, a riverwalk, and a weekly farmers’ market, but it is primarily auto-oriented and set apart from major interstate corridors by a short drive.

The school is a regular public school and the sole middle school in the Tallassee City district. Its enrollment is moderate for a school serving this grade band, and a substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The student body is majority White, with a significant Black student population and a smaller Hispanic population; students who are Asian, American Indian or Alaska Native, or of two or more races each make up a very small share.

On the Alabama state assessments for the 2024-25 school year, Southside Middle School’s results present a mixed picture. In English language arts, a majority of students met proficiency in fifth, sixth, and seventh grade, with seventh grade showing the school’s strongest performance. Eighth grade ELA results, however, fell below that level, with fewer than half of students scoring proficient. In mathematics, proficiency rates were lower across every grade level and declined notably as students moved up, with eighth grade math results the weakest in the school. Science, tested only in eighth grade, also showed a proficiency rate below the majority mark. When compared to other districts across Elmore County, the school’s overall proficiency index placed it in the bottom quartile relative to its peers.

Parents evaluating Southside Middle School will want to pay close attention to these academic patterns. The gap between the school’s stronger ELA outcomes and its weaker math and science results is the central feature to investigate. The district brief notes that Tallassee City Schools added a new Pre-K classroom for the most recent school year, expanding early childhood offerings, but that change affects the elementary school, not the middle school. A major renovation of Tallassee High School’s athletic facilities was also underway, a signal of investment at the upper end of the district.

The school does not serve high school grades, so no graduation rate applies. Data on chronic absenteeism and discipline were not available in the materials reviewed, nor were details on course access or staffing ratios. A parent may wish to ask the school directly about these topics, as well as about the specific supports available for students who are not yet meeting proficiency in math and science, particularly in the upper grades. The school’s environment, as a single middle school in a small district, means that most students from the town will move through this building together, creating a stable peer cohort across four years.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 537%

School 37% · District 37%

▲ 4 pts above state median

Grade 639%

School 39% · District 39%

▲ 10 pts above state median

Grade 730%

School 30% · District 30%

▲ 13 pts above state median

Grade 817%

School 17% · District 17%

▲ 2 pts above state median

English language arts

Grade 562%

School 62% · District 62%

▼ 5 pts below state median

Grade 658%

School 58% · District 58%

▲ 3 pts above state median

Grade 770%

School 70% · District 70%

▲ 17 pts above state median

Grade 842%

School 42% · District 42%

▼ 10 pts below state median

Science

Grade 831%

School 31% · District 31%

▼ 4 pts below state median

This schoolTallassee City, 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 5Lower-income59%Higher-income66%7 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income51%Higher-income72%21 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income64%Higher-income77%13 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income40%Higher-income46%7 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 5Lower-income31%Higher-income47%16 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income30%Higher-income58%28 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income13%Higher-income48%35 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income10%Higher-income29%20 pp gap