Demopolis, Marengo schools earn an A, Selma and Linden earn a B on state school report card

The three school systems serving Marengo County brought home good grades in the latest state report card for public schools, and no school system in the Black Belt News Network coverage area earned below a C grade.

The Alabama State Accountability Report Card, which is posted to the Alabama State Department of Education website every November, gives the state’s 153 school systems an overall grade and numerical scores in the areas of academic achievement; student improvement in reading, English and math; career or college readiness; graduation rate; and the percentage of students who miss 18 or more days of school (chronic absenteeism). 

Marengo County Schools and Demopolis City Schools earned an A, and Linden City Schools earned a B, as did Selma City Schools.

School systems in Dallas, Wilcox, Perry, Sumter and Lowndes counties earned a grade of C.

As for individual schools, US Jones Elementary School and Westside Elementary School in the Demopolis School System earned As, the only schools in the region to achieve that status.

Six schools in the region earned a B, 24 earned a C and nine earned a D. No schools in the region received a failing grade. Last year Robert C. Hatch High School in Perry County and Linden High School, earned an F. This year, Linden High School earned a grade of C with a score of 76, 30 points higher than 2025, and Hatch High School earned a grade of C with a score of 75, 19 points higher than 2025.

Here’s how area school systems and individual schools performed on the Alabama State Accountability Report Card. The systems are listed in alphabetical order.

Demopolis City Schools

1,851 students

Systemwide Score 

Grade of A with a score of 91, 3 points higher than 2025 

Academic Achievement 75.2 

Academic Growth 100 

Graduation Rate 92.5

Chronic Absenteeism 12.7 

College and Career Readiness 95 

Demopolis High School

Grade of B with a score of 80, 1 point higher than 2025

Academic Achievement 51.4

Academic Growth 81.5

Graduation Rate 92.5

Chronic Absenteeism 15.7

College and Career Readiness 95 

Demopolis Middle School

Grade of B with a score of 89, 2 points higher than 2025

Academic Achievement 76.2

Academic Growth 100

Chronic Absenteeism 10.5

US Jones Elementary School

Grade of A with a score of 91, 5 points higher than 2025

Academic Achievement 80.9

Academic Growth 100

Chronic Absenteeism 9.8

Westside Elementary School

Grade of A with a score of 90, 4 points higher than 2025

Academic Achievement 80.9

Academic Growth 100

Chronic Absenteeism 14

Dallas County Schools

2,095 students

Systemwide Score

Grade of C with a score of 79, 2 points higher than 2025

Academic Achievement 46.3

Academic Growth 89.1

Graduation Rate 87.8

Chronic Absenteeism 13.9

College and Career Readiness 82.4

Brantley Elementary School

Grade C with a score of 72, 2 points lower than 2025

Academic Achievement 43.2 

Academic Growth 89.4

Chronic Absenteeism 5.9

Dallas County High School

Grade of C with a score of 79, 1 point higher than 2025

Academic Achievement 44.6 

Academic Growth 78.8 

Graduation Rate 97.3 

Chronic Absenteeism 20.1

College and Career Readiness 94.6

Keith Middle School

Grade of C with a score of 75 79, 4 points lower than 2025

Academic Achievement 31

Academic Growth 78.1

Graduation Rate 89.3

Chronic Absenteeism 4.7

College and Career Readiness 89.3

Salem Elementary School

Grade of C with score of 75, same as 2025

Academic Achievement 55.1

Academic Growth 91.6

Chronic Absenteeism 20

Southside High School

Grade of D with a score of 65, 1 point higher than 2025

Academic Achievement 17.7

Academic Growth 71.6

Graduation Rate 80.4

Chronic Absenteeism 12.7

College and Career Readiness 71.6

Southside Elementary School

Grade of C with a score of 72 66, 6 points higher than 2025

Academic Achievement 49.9

Academic Growth 84.4

Chronic Absenteeism 7.2

Tipton Durant Middle School

Grade of D with a score of 65, 4 points higher than 2025

Academic Achievement 34.4

Academic Growth 86.8

Chronic Absenteeism 20

Valley Grande Elementary School

Grade of B with a score of 81, 3 points higher than 2025

Academic Achievement 61.4

Academic Growth 96.4

Chronic Absenteeism 12.5

William R Martin Middle School

Grade of C with a score of 77, 8 points higher than 2025

Academic Achievement 53.5

Academic Growth 97.8

Chronic Absenteeism 21

Linden City Schools

382 students

Systemwide Score

Grade of B with a score of 83, 15 points higher than 2025

Academic Achievement 56.2

Academic Growth 96.5

Graduation Rate 85.7

Chronic Absenteeism 21.4

College and Career Readiness 89.3

George P Austin Junior High School

Grade of C with a score of 79, 4 points higher than 2025

Academic Achievement 53.7

Academic Growth 100

Chronic Absenteeism 16.2

Linden Elementary School

Grade of C with a score of 78, 3 points lower than 2025

Academic Achievement 60.7

Academic Growth 89.3

Chronic Absenteeism 8.3

Linden High School

Grade of C with a score of 76, 30 points higher than 2025

Academic Achievement 47.6

Academic Growth 87.3

Graduation Rate 85.7

Chronic Absenteeism 44.9

College or Career Readiness 89.3

Lowndes County Schools

1,010 students

Systemwide Score

Grade of C with a score of 78, 1 point higher than 2025

Academic Achievement 46.1

Academic Growth 88.2

Graduation Rate 85

Chronic Absenteeism 15.7

College and Career Readiness 86

Calhoun High School

Grade of D with a score of 63, 6 points lower than 2025

Academic Achievement 18.6

Academic Growth 69.8

Graduation Rate 75.5

Chronic Absenteeism 20.5

College and Career Readiness 75.5

Central Elementary School

Grade of C with a score of 77, 9 points higher than 2025

Academic Achievement 50.9

Academic Growth AG 99.8

Chronic Absenteeism 21.9

Central High School

Grade of C with a score of 70, 5 points higher than 2025

Academic Achievement 17.2

Academic Growth 63.9

Graduation Rate 95.7

Chronic Absenteeism 13.9

College and Career Readiness 97.9

Fort Deposit Elementary School

Grade of B with a score of 86, 3 points higher than 2025

Academic Achievement 65.8

Academic Growth 99

Chronic Absenteeism 1.6

Haynesville Middle School

Grade of C with a score of 76, 10 points higher than 2025

Academic Achievement 49

Academic Growth 97.3

Chronic Absenteeism 16.7

Jackson-Steele Elementary School

Grade of B with a score of 83, 1 point higher than 2025

Academic Achievement 63.4

Academic Growth 100

Chronic Absenteeism 14.2 

Lowndes County Middle School

Grade of D with a score of 61, 14 points lower than 2025

Academic Achievement 41.2

Academic Growth 73.3

Chronic Absenteeism 22.8 

Marengo County Schools

950 students

Systemwide Score

Grade of A with a score of 90, 5 points higher than 2025

Academic Achievement 66.4

Academic Growth 97.9

Graduation Rate 97.1

Chronic Absenteeism 6.7

College and Career Readiness 91.2

Amelia L. Johnson High School

Grade of C with a score of 71, 4 points higher than 2025

Academic Achievement 55

Academic Growth 96

Chronic Absenteeism 5

Marengo High School

Grade of D with a score of 63, 23 points higher than 2025

Academic Achievement 53.3

Academic Growth 91.9 

Graduation Rate 100

Chronic Absenteeism 2.8

College and Career Readiness 80

Sweet Water High School

Grade of B with a score of 93, 6 points higher than 2025

Academic Achievement 73.9

Academic Growth 100

Graduation Rate 97.4

Chronic Absenteeism 8.7

College and Career Readiness 97.4

Perry County Schools

785 Students

Systemwide Score

Grade of C with a score of 77, 1 point higher than 2025

Academic Achievement 40.5

Academic Growth 75.1

Graduation Rate 98

Chronic Absenteeism 31.2

College and Career Readiness 98

Francis Marion School

Grade of C with a score of 79, same as 2025

Academic Achievement 43.6

Academic Growth 82.2

Graduation Rate 96.4

Chronic Absenteeism 31.6

College and Career Readiness 96.4

Robert C Hatch High School

Grade of C with a score of 75, 19 points higher than 2025

Academic Achievement 37.6

Academic Growth 68.5

Graduation Rate 100

Chronic Absenteeism 30.8

College or Career Readiness 100

Selma City Schools

2,204 students 

Systemwide Score 

Grade of B with a score of 81, 2 points higher than 2025 

Academic Achievement 45.3 

Academic Growth 87.1 

Graduation Rate 94.4 

Chronic Absenteeism 10.3 

College and Career Readiness 89.8

Clark Elementary School 

Grade D with a score of 64, 14 points lower than 2025

Academic Achievement 33.2 

Academic Growth 80.4

Chronic Absenteeism 6.5 

Edgewood Elementary School 

Grade C with a score of 74, 1 point lower than 2025 

Academic Achievement 46.1

Academic Growth 95.5

Chronic Absenteeism 18.4 

Meadowview Elementary School 

Grade B with a score of 82, 2 points higher than 2025 

Academic Achievement 63

Academic Growth 95.2

Chronic Absenteeism 8.4 

Payne Elementary School 

Grade C with a score of 73, 3 points lower than 2025 

Academic Achievement 47.3 

Academic Growth 87.6

Chronic Absenteeism 4.1

Selma High School 

Grade of C with a score of 78, 5 points higher than 2025 

Academic Achievement 30.5 

Academic Growth 84.6 

Graduation Rate 95.1

Chronic Absenteeism 10.6 

College and Career Readiness 90.9

Sophia Kingston Elementary School

Grade of C with a score of 68, 6 points lower than 2025

Academic Excellence 47.4

Academic Growth 78.4

Chronic Absenteeism 9.2

R.B. Hudson STEAM Academy

A grade of D with a score of 69, 1 point lower than 2025

Academic Achievement 43.7

Academic Growth 84.2

Chronic Absenteeism 6

Sumter County Schools

848 students

Systemwide Score

Grade of C with a score of 70, same as 2025

Academic Achievement 38.4

Academic Growth 77.4

Graduation Rate 79.3

Chronic Absenteeism 21.9

College and Career Readiness 78.1

Livingston Junior High School

Grade of C with a score of 71, 4 points lower than 2025

Academic Achievement 46

Academic Growth 90.6

Chronic Absenteeism 23.1

Sumter Central High School

Grade of D with a score of 68, 1 point higher than 2025

Academic Achievement 31.3

Academic Growth 74.5

Graduation Rate 79.3

Chronic Absenteeism 21.2

College and Career Readiness 78.1

York West End Junior High School

Grade of D with a score of 67, 4 points lower than 2025

Academic Achievement 52.4

Academic Growth 76.1

Chronic Absenteeism 22.5

Wilcox County Schools

1,079 students

Systemwide Score

Grade of C with a score of 79, 3 points higher than 2025

Academic Achievement 43.3

Academic Growth 84.6

Graduation Rate 88.5

Chronic Absenteeism 9.8

College and Career Readiness 92.3

ABC Elementary School

Grade of D with a score of 62, 9 points lower than 2025

Academic Achievement 48.8

Academic Growth 63.1

Chronic Absenteeism 5.4

Camden School of Arts and Technology

Grade of D with a score of 69, 3 points higher than 2025

Academic Achievement 39.7

Academic Growth 89.2

Chronic Absenteeism 13.6

FS Ervin Elementary School

Grade of C with a score of 71, 3 points lower than 2025

Academic Achievement 51.1

Academic Growth 82.7

Chronic Absenteeism 12.6

J E Hobbs Elementary School

Grade of C with a score of 76, 9 points higher than 2025

Academic Achievement 52.1

Academic Growth 92.4

Chronic Absenteeism 7.7

Wilcox Central High School

Grade of D with a score of 69 67, 2 points higher than 2025

Academic Achievement 15.5

Academic Growth 70.1

Graduation Rate 89.3

Chronic Absenteeism 9.5

College and Career Readiness 93.2

For comparison purposes, the state of Alabama collectively earned a B with a score of 88, 1 point higher than its 2025 score. The academic achievement score was 629, academic growth was 97.1, graduation rate was 92.8, chronic absenteeism was 10.5 and college or career readiness was 90.7. In all 725,315 students attend the state’s public schools.  

All the scores can be found here.