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How has Fort Payne High School changed in the last five years, for better or worse?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,106
High
DISTRICT 702 · STATE 682
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·FORT PAYNE CITY·NCES 010156000538
Fort Payne High School
201 45th St NE, Fort Payne, AL 35967 · (256) 845-0535 · DeKalb County
GRADES 09–12HIGH32-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL1,106 STUDENTS
B
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 63% of Alabama public high schools
- B-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- B+Beats 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 high schools
Student : Teacher
16.8:1
66 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.2:1 · STATE 17.2:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
62%
688 students
DISTRICT 64% · STATE 58%
Community
6
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other high schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 9 | 275 | 25% |
| Grade 10 | 296 | 27% |
| Grade 11 | 258 | 23% |
| Grade 12 | 277 | 25% |
Student demographics
57%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
Feeds from
Based on grade levels within Fort Payne City. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
ACAP 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
26.7%
AL avg 52.7%
Math
27.3%
AL avg 31.8%
What this means: On the ACAP, Alabama's statewide test, about 27 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 27 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
27.7%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
38.8%
based on AL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-11.1pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 28% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 39% 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 Fort Payne High School
Fort Payne High School's state test result (27.7% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Payne High School this school | 1,106 | 62.2% | 27.7% |
| Boaz High School Boaz | 721 | 64.6% | 26.1% |
| Douglas High School Douglas | 727 | 64.8% | 29.9% |
| Albertville High School Albertville | 1,244 | 64.1% | 20.2% |
| Jemison High School Jemison | 702 | 67.4% | 20.4% |
| Decatur High School Decatur | 915 | 63.3% | 30.9% |
Matched among Alabama high 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 Fort Payne High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Alabama |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 27.7% | #147 of 305 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 27.3% | #93 of 305 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 26.7% | #178 of 305 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 1,106 | #55 of 319 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.8:1 | #129 of 307 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 56.9% | #72 of 307 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 62.2% | #112 of 317 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +18.0% | #31 of 130 |
Ranked against other public high 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
1,106
+80 (+8%) vs 2020
+53% since 1990-91, when it was 725
Student : Teacher
16.8:1
was 18.0:1
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 | 1,106 | 66 | 16.8:1 | 62% (688) |
| 2023-24 | 1,112 | 62.4 | 17.8:1 | 71% (784) |
| 2022-23 | 1,058 | 62.5 | 16.9:1 | 71% (747) |
| 2020-21 | 1,026 | 57 | 18.0:1 | 61% (621) |
| 2017-18 | 937 | 52.4 | 17.9:1 | 63% (594) |
| 2015-16 | 920 | 51 | 18.0:1 | 60% (554) |
| 2010-11 | 848 | 50 | 17.0:1 | 49% (414) |
| 2000-01 | 718 | 45 | 16.0:1 | 23% (166) |
| 1990-91 | 725 | 37 | 19.6:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Fort Payne High School.
Since 2017-18: students up 18% (937 to 1,106); teachers up 26% (52.4 to 66).
About Fort Payne High School
Fort Payne High School is a high school in Fort Payne, Alabama, according to federal school records. It covers grades 9 through 12, with a total enrollment of 1,106 students. Statewide, high schools in Alabama average about 682 students each.
The 5 schools in Fort Payne City enroll 3,508 students altogether, Fort Payne High School among them.
Hispanic students are the largest group at Fort Payne High School, with 47% of enrollment. Beyond that, enrollment is 45% White, 3% Black, and 2% multiracial. The Hispanic share of the county population is lower, at 17%. Fort Payne High School has a diversity index of 57%, compared with 70% for all US public school students.
Staffing totals 66 full-time-equivalent teachers, and the student-to-teacher ratio is 16.8:1. High schools in Alabama have a similar average ratio of 17.2:1. A measure often used for student poverty, free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, stands at 62%. That is close to the 65% average for public schools in DeKalb County.
allk12 grades Fort Payne High School a B. The grade compares the school only with Alabama public high schools, because each state gives its own test.
Fort Payne High School is 11.1 points below its predicted average proficiency rate on state tests (27.7% versus 38.8%), which places it in neither the top nor the bottom 10% in Alabama.
Recent Census Bureau figures for DeKalb County show that median household income is about $51,204, 14% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 16% of people live in poverty. Federal data list 20 public schools in DeKalb County, with a combined enrollment of about 12,277.
Fort Payne Middle School is the public school closest to Fort Payne High School, about 0.4 miles away. Inside a five-mile radius, there are 4 other public schools. Compared with its nearest neighbors, Fort Payne High School ranks 7th of 7 on average proficiency.
Federal records code the school's setting as Town: Distant.
Federal counts put enrollment at 1,026 in 2020-21 and 1,106 in 2024-25, an 8% increase. Federal data show the ratio falling from 18.0:1 to 16.8:1.
Families, students, and staff can use this page to discuss sports schedules, lunch menus, and spirit week at Fort Payne High School. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
DeKalb County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
72,269
Census ACS
Median income
$51,204
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
14%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
16%
Below federal line
Schools in county
20
12,277 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Fort Payne City
- Little Ridge Intermediate SchoolElementary · 792 students
- Fort Payne Middle SchoolMiddle · 741 students
- Wills Valley Elementary SchoolElementary · 738 students
- Williams Avenue Elementary SchoolElementary · 131 students
Other schools in Fort Payne
- Little Ridge Intermediate SchoolElementary · 792 students
- Fort Payne Middle SchoolMiddle · 741 students
- Wills Valley Elementary SchoolElementary · 738 students
- Williams Avenue Elementary SchoolElementary · 131 students
- Alternative SchoolHigh
Nearby schools
- Fort Payne Middle School0.4 mi · 741
- Wills Valley Elementary School0.5 mi · 738
- Little Ridge Intermediate School0.6 mi · 792
- Williams Avenue Elementary School2.9 mi · 131
- Valley Head High School6.3 mi · 517
- Plainview School8.4 mi · 1,167
Frequently asked questions
About Fort Payne High SchoolHow large is Fort Payne High School?
Fort Payne High School enrolls approximately 1,106 students in grades 09-12.
What grades does Fort Payne High School serve?
Fort Payne High School serves grades 09-12.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Fort Payne High School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Fort Payne High School is approximately 16.8:1 (66 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Fort Payne High School?
At Fort Payne High School, the student body is approximately 45% White, 47% Hispanic, 3% Black, 1% Asian, 2% Two or more.
Who oversees Fort Payne High School?
Fort Payne High School is overseen by Fort Payne City in DeKalb County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.