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What advice would you give to incoming students at Cottondale Elementary School?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
438
Elementary
DISTRICT 462 · STATE 480
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·TUSCALOOSA COUNTY·NCES 010339001276
Cottondale Elementary School
2301 Cottondale Ln, Cottondale, AL 35453 · (205) 342-2642 · Tuscaloosa County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY22-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL438 STUDENTS
D
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 10% of Alabama public elementary schools
- C-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- DBeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Alabama public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
17.5:1
25 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 16.2:1 · STATE 17.0:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
71%
309 students
DISTRICT 53% · STATE 58%
Community
6
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 36 | 8% |
| Kindergarten | 68 | 16% |
| Grade 1 | 55 | 13% |
| Grade 2 | 82 | 19% |
| Grade 3 | 78 | 18% |
| Grade 4 | 65 | 15% |
| Grade 5 | 54 | 12% |
This year's kindergarten class (68) is 26% larger than its 5th grade class (54).
Student demographics
70%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 62% · STATE 63% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
ACAP 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
42.1%
AL avg 52.7%
Math
18.5%
AL avg 31.8%
What this means: On the ACAP, Alabama's statewide test, about 42 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 19 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Alabama schools, those numbers are about 53 and 32.
Source: ACAP. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
28.4%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
32.7%
based on AL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-4.3pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 28% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 33% typical for Alabama schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Alabama's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Cottondale Elementary School
Cottondale Elementary School's state test result (28.4% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cottondale Elementary School this school | 438 | 70.5% | 28.4% |
| James L Cowart Elementary School Athens | 332 | 69.3% | 48.4% |
| A M Windham Elementary School Daleville | 507 | 75.5% | 42.6% |
| Pinedale Elementary School Enterprise | 350 | 67.4% | 60.9% |
| Flatwoods Elementary School Northport | 459 | 68.6% | 36.5% |
| Athens Elementary School Athens | 474 | 67.5% | 49.0% |
Matched among Alabama elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Cottondale Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Alabama | In Tuscaloosa County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 28.4% | #527 of 626 | #26 of 29 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 18.5% | #531 of 626 | #28 of 29 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 42.1% | #524 of 626 | #25 of 29 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 438 | #389 of 709 | #20 of 31 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 17.5:1 | #402 of 655 | #22 of 31 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 69.7% | #18 of 658 | #1 of 31 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 70.5% | #214 of 696 | #9 of 31 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +21.0% | #65 of 262 | #6 of 15 |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
438
+28 (+7%) vs 2020
-32% since 1990-91, when it was 647
Student : Teacher
17.5:1
was 15.8:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 438 | 25 | 17.5:1 | 71% (309) |
| 2023-24 | 447 | 26 | 17.2:1 | 67% (300) |
| 2022-23 | 451 | 28 | 16.1:1 | 84% (378) |
| 2020-21 | 410 | 26 | 15.8:1 | 76% (310) |
| 2017-18 | 362 | 18 | 20.1:1 | 70% (252) |
| 2015-16 | 366 | 21 | 17.4:1 | 47% (173) |
| 2010-11 | 414 | 32 | 12.9:1 | 68% (282) |
| 2000-01 | 568 | 36 | 15.8:1 | 52% (296) |
| 1990-91 | 647 | 28 | 23.1:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Cottondale Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students up 21% (362 to 438); teachers up 39% (18 to 25).
About Cottondale Elementary School
Families in Cottondale, Alabama, are served by Cottondale Elementary School, a medium-sized elementary school. The school serves 438 students in pre-K through 5 in 2024-25.
Cottondale Elementary School is one school in Tuscaloosa County, a system of 35 schools with 19,278 students.
At Cottondale Elementary School, the largest share of students is White, at 36%. The remaining shares are 31% Hispanic, 28% Black, and 5% multiracial. Tuscaloosa County as a whole is about 60% White, so the school's share is lower. Pick two students at random and there is a 70% chance they belong to different racial or ethnic groups; that figure is the school's diversity index.
The count of teachers at Cottondale Elementary School is 25 full-time equivalents, for a ratio of 17.5:1. That is close to the 17.0:1 average for elementary schools in Alabama. Around 71% of the school's students qualify for free or reduced-price meals. That is higher than the 54% average for public schools in Tuscaloosa County.
allk12 grades Cottondale Elementary School a D. The grade compares the school only with Alabama public elementary schools, because each state gives its own test.
The school's average proficiency rate on state tests is 28.4%. For its free or reduced-price lunch share, the predicted value is 32.7%.
Among Tuscaloosa County residents, the median household income is $66,231, 32% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 11% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Cottondale Elementary School is one of 58 public schools in the county.
The closest public school to Cottondale Elementary School is DavisEmerson Middle School, about 0.6 miles away. Counting only straight-line distance, at least 8 other public schools are within five miles. Of 9 schools in the immediate area with test results, Cottondale Elementary School ranks 4th on average proficiency.
Locale: Suburb: Mid-size. In NCES terms, the school is in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population between 100,000 and 250,000.
Over 4 years, Cottondale Elementary School's enrollment grew 7%, to 438. The student-to-teacher ratio went up from 15.8:1 to 17.5:1.
Threads on this page can be about sports schedules, lunch menus, and spirit week. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
Tuscaloosa County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
237,552
Census ACS
Median income
$66,231
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
32%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
11%
Below federal line
Schools in county
58
30,508 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Tuscaloosa County
- Tuscaloosa County High SchoolHigh · 1,607 students
- Hillcrest High SchoolHigh · 1,434 students
- Brookwood High SchoolHigh · 1,076 students
- Lake View Elementary SchoolElementary · 744 students
- Walker Elementary SchoolElementary · 743 students
- Brookwood Middle SchoolMiddle · 738 students
Other schools in Cottondale
- Paul W Bryant High SchoolHigh · 1,134 students
- Eastwood Middle SchoolMiddle · 711 students
- DavisEmerson Middle SchoolMiddle · 397 students
Other Cottondale Elementary schools
One other US public school is named Cottondale Elementary. Cottondale Elementary School is the 2nd largest of the 2.
- COTTONDALE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLCOTTONDALE, FL · 471 students
Nearby schools
- DavisEmerson Middle School0.6 mi · 397
- Eastwood Middle School1.8 mi · 711
- Paul W Bryant High School2.0 mi · 1,134
- Arcadia Elementary School2.0 mi · 418
- Woodland Forrest Elementary School2.6 mi · 544
- Holt High School2.6 mi · 456
Frequently asked questions
About Cottondale Elementary SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Cottondale Elementary School?
Cottondale Elementary School enrolls approximately 438 students in grades PK-05.
What age range does Cottondale Elementary School serve?
Cottondale Elementary School serves students from grade PK through grade 05.
How many teachers does Cottondale Elementary School have?
Cottondale Elementary School employs 25 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 17.5:1.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Cottondale Elementary School?
At Cottondale Elementary School, the student body is approximately 36% White, 31% Hispanic, 28% Black, 5% Two or more.
What district is Cottondale Elementary School in?
Cottondale Elementary School is part of Tuscaloosa County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.