By Scott Buttram
Publisher
MONTGOMERY — The Alabama State Department of Education released the required 2017-18 report card scores for public schools and public school districts across the state on Friday. The school and school system report cards became a requirement after the state legislature passed a law requiring the scores so that parents could easily assess the quality of their child’s school.
As a whole, Alabama schools showed an improvement over the 2016-17 scores. One major change was that the state dropped the ACT Aspire testing system in favor of a Scantron test that state officials said better aligns with what Alabama students are being taught in any given grade.
Locally, the Trussville City Schools district vaulted to No. 2 in the state, coming in just behind the top scoring system in Alabama, Mountain Brook Schools.
TCS earned an A and a numerical score of 96 for 2017-18, up from a 93 in 2016-17. MBS scored an A with a numerical score of 98 in 2017-18, which was the same score the system posted in 2016-17.
Other top scoring systems in Alabama included Vestavia Hills City Schools with a 94, Arab City Schools with a 93, Madison, Oneonta, Saraland, Muscle Shoals and Hartselle City Schools with a 92, Homewood, Cullman, Auburn and Brewton City Schools with a 91. Hoover City and Cleburne County Schools both scored a 90.
Locally, St. Clair County School System scored an 84 for the second year in a row. Blount County held steady at 83. Leeds City Schools improved from an 80 to an 81 in 2017-18, while Jefferson County Schools improved from a 76 in 2016-17 to a 77 in 2017-18.
At the individual school level, Trussville schools all posted A’s, while many area schools showed dramatic improvement from 2016-17 to 2017-18. Moody Elementary was a shining star among local schools with a 15-point increase, jumping from a C to an A.
In Trussville, Cahaba Elementary School led the way for TCS, posting a 99 for the second straight year. Magnolia posted a 96 and Paine earned a 94; both schools were down two points from the previous year. The biggest gainers in 2017-18 for Trussville were Hewitt-Trussville High School with a 95 and Hewitt-Trussville Middle School with a 94. Both schools had scored an 88 in 2016-17.
In the Clay-Chalkville feeder group, Clay Elementary was the top scoring school with an 86, up from an 80 in 2016-17. Chalkville Elementary improved from a 74 in 2017-17 to a 78 in 2017-18. Clay-Chalkville High School improved three points to a 74, while Clay-Chalkville Middle School moved up from a 67 in 2016-17 to a 69 in 2017-18.
The Pinson Valley feeder group was led by Pinson Valley High School, which jumped from a 69 in 2016-17 to a 77 in 2017-18. Pinson Valley Elementary and Kermit Johnson each scored a 76. Rudd Middle School remained unchanged from the previous year with a 69.
Center Point Elementary posted a 64 while Erwin Intermediate School improved from a 55 in 2016-17 to a 63 in 2017-18. Center Point High School earned a 63 for the second straight year, while Erwin Middle School posted a 61, up from a 60 the previous year.
Springville Elementary led all St. Clair County schools with a 94, up from an 87 in 2016-17. Springville Middle School improved from an 88 in 2016-17 to a 92 for 2017-18. Springville High School held steady with an 85 for the second year.
Moody Elementary was one of the biggest gainers in the local area, jumping from a 75 in 2016-17 to a 90 in 2017-18. Moody Junior High improved from a 77 in 2016-17 to an 88. Moody High School School posted an 87, up five points from an 82, while Moody Middle School improved one point to an 82.
Leeds High School scored an 85, up from an 82 in 2016-17. Leeds Elementary improved from a 69 to a 79 in 2017-18. Leeds Primary School posted a 77, while Leeds Middle School fell from a 75 in 2016-17 down to a 67 in 2017-18.
In Blount County, Hayden High School led all schools with an 88, followed by Southeastern, Locust Fork High School, and Cleveland High School with an 86. Hayden Middle School and Appalachian School scored an 85. Hayden Primary and Hayden Elementary both posted an 83. Susan Moore Elementary and Locust Fork Elementary both scored an 81, while J.B. Pennington High School had a 79. Susan Moore High School and Cleveland Elementary posted a 77, followed by Blountsville Elementary with a 76.