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What's the most underrated thing about Gardendale High School that outsiders don't know?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,076
High
DISTRICT 958 · STATE 682
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·JEFFERSON COUNTY·NCES 010192000706
Gardendale High School
800 Main St, Gardendale, AL 35071 · (205) 379-3600 · Jefferson County
GRADES 09–12HIGH21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL1,076 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
18.4:1
59 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 17.1:1 · STATE 17.2:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
39%
415 students
DISTRICT 59% · STATE 58%
Community
5
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 | 26% |
| Grade 10 | 275 | 26% |
| Grade 11 | 259 | 24% |
| Grade 12 | 267 | 25% |
Student demographics
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. 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
23.1%
AL avg 52.7%
Math
15.3%
AL avg 31.8%
What this means: On the ACAP, Alabama's statewide test, about 23 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 15 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
UNDERPERFORMING
Bottom 10% of AL schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
22.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
55.9%
based on AL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-33.4pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 23% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 56% typical for Alabama schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations compares each school with others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school lands here when its results trail those comparable schools, which is not the same as having low scores. A higher-scoring school can still fall in this tier if similar schools score higher still.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
7-year change
SY 2017-18 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
1,076
+15 (+1%) vs 2017
Student : Teacher
18.4:1
was 17.8:1
% White
57%
was 68%
% Hispanic
9%
was 3%
% Black
30%
was 27%
% Asian
2%
was 1%
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free or reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 1,076 | 58.5 | 18.4:1 | 39% (415) |
| 2023-24 | 1,063 | 58 | 18.3:1 | 48% (508) |
| 2022-23 | 1,047 | 60 | 17.4:1 | 48% (499) |
| 2017-18 | 1,061 | 59.5 | 17.8:1 | 30% (314) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Gardendale High School.
About Gardendale High School
Gardendale, Alabama, is home to Gardendale High School, a large high school. The school reports 1,076 students in grades 9 through 12. The school's enrollment is 58% bigger than the 682 average for high schools in Alabama.
Jefferson County counts 35,444 students in its 55 schools, and Gardendale High School is one of them.
White students make up a majority at Gardendale High School, at 57%. Smaller groups are 30% Black, 9% Hispanic, and 2% Asian. For comparison, the population of Jefferson County is roughly 48% White.
The school reports 58.5 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to about 18.4 students per teacher. The school has more students per teacher than the 17.2:1 average for high schools in Alabama. The free or reduced-price lunch share, often used to gauge student poverty, is 39%. Across public schools in Jefferson County, the average is 52%.
On BeatsExpectations, which compares test results with what a school's student poverty level would predict, Gardendale High School ranks in the bottom 10% in Alabama. Its average proficiency rate on state tests is 22.5%, against a prediction of 55.9%.
In the county around the school, Jefferson County, the median household income is $66,388, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 36% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 11%. Jefferson County is home to 181 public schools and about 97,401 public school students.
The closest public school to Gardendale High School is Bragg Middle School, about 0.3 miles away. Gardendale High School is one of several public schools in the area, with 7 others within five miles. Among 8 nearby schools that report test results, Gardendale High School ranks 8th on proficiency.
For locale, NCES codes Gardendale High School as Suburb: Large.
Compared with 2017-18, when it had 1,061 students, enrollment in 2024-25 was about the same at 1,076. Among racial and ethnic groups, the biggest change was White students, from 68% to 57%.
Posts about school events, clubs, and volunteer needs are welcome on this page. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
Jefferson County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
667,755
Census ACS
Median income
$66,388
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
36%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
11%
Below federal line
Schools in county
181
97,401 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Jefferson County
- ClayChalkville High SchoolHigh · 1,377 students
- McAdory High SchoolHigh · 1,259 students
- Hueytown High SchoolHigh · 1,200 students
- Shades Valley High SchoolHigh · 1,094 students
- Pinson Valley High SchoolHigh · 1,025 students
- Minor High SchoolHigh · 978 students
Other schools in Gardendale
- Bragg Middle SchoolMiddle · 731 students
- Gardendale Elementary SchoolElementary · 700 students
- Snow Rogers Elementary SchoolElementary · 389 students
Nearby schools
- Bragg Middle School0.3 mi · 731
- Gardendale Elementary School0.4 mi · 700
- Fultondale High School2.5 mi · 848
- Snow Rogers Elementary School3.0 mi · 389
- Tarrant High School3.2 mi · 597
- Fultondale Elementary School3.6 mi · 889
Frequently asked questions
About Gardendale High SchoolHow large is Gardendale High School?
Gardendale High School enrolls approximately 1,076 students in grades 09-12.
Is Gardendale High School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Gardendale High School is a high school covering grades 09-12.
How many teachers does Gardendale High School have?
Gardendale High School employs 59 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 18.4:1.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Gardendale High School?
At Gardendale High School, the student body is approximately 57% White, 9% Hispanic, 30% Black, 2% Asian, 2% Two or more.
What district is Gardendale High School in?
Gardendale High School is part of Jefferson County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.