Carbon Hill Elementaryjunior High School, Carbon Hill AL

Original Research by School Decision on Carbon Hill Elementaryjunior High School

Carbon Hill Elementary/Junior High School is a regular public school serving students from prekindergarten through eighth grade in the small, rural town of Carbon Hill, located in western Walker County, Alabama. The school is part of the Walker County School System and draws its student body from a community that was built on coal mining but has seen that industry disappear entirely. Today Carbon Hill is a low-density town with a shrinking population and a handful of local shops and diners; residents rely on the nearby city of Jasper for broader services and employment.

On state assessments administered in the 2024-2025 school year, the school’s results varied widely by grade and subject. In English language arts, early elementary grades performed well, with a large majority of third graders meeting proficiency standards, and fifth and seventh graders also showed strong results. Proficiency in ELA dipped in fourth and eighth grades but remained near the middle of the range. Math performance was notably weaker overall, with the highest proficiency in third grade and a steep decline through the upper grades; by eighth grade, a small share of students reached proficiency. Science results for fourth and eighth graders were modest, with about a third of students meeting the standard. When combined across tested subjects and grades, the school’s overall proficiency index sits above the midpoint relative to districts in Walker County.

Enrollment is moderate for a PK-8 school, with roughly four hundred ninety students distributed across the grade levels. The student body is predominantly white, with small shares of Hispanic, Black, and multiracial students, and a very small number of American Indian and Asian students. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the high level of economic disadvantage in the community.

Housing in the area is affordable by national standards, though home values have declined in the past year. The typical monthly mortgage payment is modest relative to income, and rents are also relatively low. The local unemployment rate is slightly above the national average, and median household income trails the national figure. The town’s population has been stagnant or declining, and it has experienced destructive tornadoes in the past.

The Walker County district recently enacted a consolidation plan that closed four elementary schools, including Carbon Hill Elementary, effective for the 2024-2025 school year. Students previously attending those schools were reassigned to remaining facilities, which may affect travel distances for some families. The district also launched new career technical education programs at the Walker County Center of Technology, offering pathways in welding, healthcare sciences, and information technology. These changes represent the most notable recent shifts in the educational landscape for families in the area.

Because the school ends at eighth grade, there is no graduation rate to report. Families considering this school will want to look into the feeder high school and the implications of the recent consolidation for how their child’s school experience will be structured from year to year. The academic results show a clear split between stronger reading performance in the elementary years and more challenging math outcomes, particularly as students move through middle school. Given the high share of students from low-income households, a parent may want to ask about what support programs are in place for struggling learners and how the school addresses the math gap.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 363%

School 63% · District 45% · ▲ 18 pts above district

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

Grade 436%

School 36% · District 42% · ▼ 5 pts below district

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

Grade 550%

School 50% · District 32% · ▲ 18 pts above district

▲ 17 pts above state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

Grade 624%

School 24% · District 28% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▼ 5 pts below state median

Grade 717%

School 17% · District 19% · ▼ 2 pts below district

even with state median

Grade 813%

School 13% · District 18% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 380%

School 80% · District 72% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▲ 15 pts above state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

Grade 452%

School 52% · District 63% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

Grade 570%

School 70% · District 68% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Grade 659%

School 59% · District 57% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 4 pts above state median

Grade 771%

School 71% · District 61% · ▲ 10 pts above district

▲ 17 pts above state median

Grade 853%

School 53% · District 47% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Science

Grade 430%

School 30% · District 50% · ▼ 21 pts below district

▼ 9 pts below state median

Grade 834%

School 34% · District 35%

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

This schoolWalker 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.