1
Teachers: what resource would make the biggest difference at Dothan Preparatory Academy this year?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,034
Middle
DISTRICT 742 · STATE 508
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·DOTHAN CITY·NCES 010123002480
Dothan Preparatory Academy
1236 South Oates Street, Dothan, AL 36031 · (334) 794-1400 · Houston County
GRADES 07–08MIDDLE13-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL1,034 STUDENTS
C-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 23% of Alabama public middle schools
- C-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- CBeats 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 middle schools
Student : Teacher
18.5:1
56 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 19.0:1 · STATE 17.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
71%
737 students
DISTRICT 72% · STATE 58%
Community
6
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other middle schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 7 | 540 | 52% |
| Grade 8 | 494 | 48% |
Student demographics
55%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 57% · 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
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
Dothan Preparatory Academy→Carver 9th Grade Academy
Based on grade levels within Dothan City. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
ACAP 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
40.9%
AL avg 52.7%
Math
11.5%
AL avg 31.8%
What this means: On the ACAP, Alabama's statewide test, about 41 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 12 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
26.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
32.2%
based on AL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-5.7pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 27% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 32% 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 Dothan Preparatory Academy
Dothan Preparatory Academy's state test result (26.5% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dothan Preparatory Academy this school | 1,034 | 71.3% | 26.5% |
| Phenix City Intermediate School Phenix City | 1,068 | 63.7% | 34.8% |
| ClayChalkville Middle School Trussville | 952 | 72.5% | 16.6% |
| Opelika Middle School Opelika | 812 | 73.2% | 37.9% |
| Eastwood Middle School Cottondale | 711 | 71.4% | 20.7% |
| Burns Middle School Mobile | 568 | 76.2% | 22.3% |
Matched among Alabama middle 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 Dothan Preparatory Academy ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Alabama |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 26.5% | #198 of 260 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 11.5% | #195 of 260 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 40.9% | #198 of 260 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 1,034 | #14 of 265 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 18.5:1 | #142 of 244 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 54.5% | #94 of 246 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 71.3% | #78 of 264 |
Ranked against other public middle 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
1,034
-656 (-39%) vs 2020
Student : Teacher
18.5:1
was 19.0:1
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 | 1,034 | 56 | 18.5:1 | 71% (737) |
| 2023-24 | 1,046 | 61 | 17.1:1 | 77% (809) |
| 2022-23 | 1,133 | 60 | 18.9:1 | 77% (878) |
| 2020-21 | 1,690 | 89 | 19.0:1 | 75% (1,261) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Dothan Preparatory Academy.
About Dothan Preparatory Academy
Dothan Preparatory Academy is a large middle school in Dothan, Alabama, one of the schools in Dothan City. Enrolled students number 1,034 students, in grades 7 through 8. Statewide, middle schools in Alabama average about 508 students each.
Federal data list 16 schools in Dothan City, with 8,220 students enrolled.
Black students are the majority at Dothan Preparatory Academy, with 62% of enrollment. Other groups include 25% White and 9% Hispanic. The county population is about 27% Black. Dothan Preparatory Academy's diversity index is 55%, against a US figure of 70%.
At Dothan Preparatory Academy, 56 full-time-equivalent teachers work with students, a ratio of about 18.5:1. That matches the 17.9:1 average for middle schools in Alabama fairly closely. Students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch make up 71% of enrollment.
The allk12 Grade for Dothan Preparatory Academy is C-. Compared with Alabama public middle schools, the school scored higher than 23% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
Dothan Preparatory Academy sits between the top and bottom 10% of Alabama schools on BeatsExpectations, with an actual average proficiency rate on state tests of 26.5% and a predicted 32.2%.
Dothan Preparatory Academy is located in Houston County, where the median household income is $58,626, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 23%, and roughly 13% of residents are in poverty. Besides Dothan Preparatory Academy, Houston County has 34 other public schools.
The nearest other public school, Dothan City Virtual School, is less than a tenth of a mile away. Inside a five-mile radius, there are at least 8 other public schools. Compared with its nearest neighbors, Dothan Preparatory Academy ranks 4th of 5 on average proficiency.
Dothan Preparatory Academy is inside a principal city with a population under 100,000, a location NCES labels City: Small.
Enrollment is down 39% from 2020-21, when Dothan Preparatory Academy had 1,690 students, to 2024-25, when it had 1,034.
Questions about enrollment questions, class placement, and PTA news can be posted here. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
Houston County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
108,140
Census ACS
Median income
$58,626
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
23%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
13%
Below federal line
Schools in county
35
15,127 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Dothan City
- Dothan High SchoolHigh · 1,588 students
- Carver 9th Grade AcademyHigh · 583 students
- Kelly Springs Elementary SchoolElementary · 516 students
- Highlands Elementary SchoolElementary · 501 students
- Hidden Lake Primary SchoolElementary · 476 students
- Dothan 6th Grade CenterMiddle · 449 students
Other schools in Dothan
- Dothan High SchoolHigh · 1,588 students
- Rehobeth High SchoolHigh · 786 students
- Rehobeth Primary SchoolElementary · 761 students
- Carver 9th Grade AcademyHigh · 583 students
- Kelly Springs Elementary SchoolElementary · 516 students
- Highlands Elementary SchoolElementary · 501 students
Nearby schools
- Dothan City Virtual School0.1 mi · 226
- Carver School of Mathematics Science and Technology0.8 mi · 429
- Selma Street Elementary School1.2 mi · 421
- Houston County Virtual Academy1.2 mi · 246
- Heard Elementary School2.1 mi · 389
- Carver 9th Grade Academy2.2 mi · 583
Frequently asked questions
About Dothan Preparatory AcademyWhat is the total enrollment at Dothan Preparatory Academy?
Dothan Preparatory Academy enrolls approximately 1,034 students in grades 07-08.
What age range does Dothan Preparatory Academy serve?
Dothan Preparatory Academy serves students from grade 07 through grade 08.
How many students per teacher at Dothan Preparatory Academy?
Approximately 18.5:1 students per teacher at Dothan Preparatory Academy.
How diverse is Dothan Preparatory Academy?
Dothan Preparatory Academy reports a student body of 25% White, 9% Hispanic, 62% Black, 1% Asian, 2% Two or more.
Who oversees Dothan Preparatory Academy?
Dothan Preparatory Academy is overseen by Dothan City in Houston County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.