1
What's the vibe like in the hallways at Smith Middle School right now?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
336
Middle
DISTRICT 350 · STATE 508
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·BIRMINGHAM CITY·NCES 010039000184
Smith Middle School
1124 Five Mile Rd, Birmingham, AL 35215 · (205) 231-5675 · Jefferson County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE12-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL336 STUDENTS
F
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 4% of Alabama public middle schools
- FTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- C-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 middle schools
Student : Teacher
21.0:1
16 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 22.2:1 · STATE 17.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
86%
290 students
DISTRICT 77% · STATE 58%
Community
1
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 6 | 116 | 35% |
| Grade 7 | 108 | 32% |
| Grade 8 | 112 | 33% |
Student demographics
29%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 29% · 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
24.2%
AL avg 52.7%
Math
1.8%
AL avg 31.8%
What this means: On the ACAP, Alabama's statewide test, about 24 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 2 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
12.0%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
21.3%
based on AL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-9.3pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 12% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 21% 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 Smith Middle School
Smith Middle School's state test result (12.0% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smith Middle School this school | 336 | 86.3% | 12.0% |
| Green Acres Middle School Birmingham | 309 | 84.5% | 20.0% |
| Bush Hills STEAM Academy Birmingham | 370 | 85.4% | 14.6% |
| Ossie Ware Mitchell Middle School Birmingham | 330 | 87.9% | 17.6% |
| Rutledge School Midfield | 288 | 90.3% | 17.9% |
| Jones Valley Middle School Birmingham | 465 | 85.8% | 11.6% |
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 Smith Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Alabama | In Jefferson County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 12.0% | #252 of 260 | #28 of 30 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 1.8% | #253 of 260 | #27 of 30 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 24.2% | #249 of 260 | #27 of 30 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 336 | #192 of 265 | #25 of 32 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 21.0:1 | #223 of 244 | #23 of 30 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 28.6% | #202 of 246 | #21 of 31 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 86.3% | #23 of 264 | #5 of 32 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -21.7% | #36 of 151 | #3 of 17 |
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
336
-91 (-21%) vs 2020
-28% since 1990-91, when it was 469
Student : Teacher
21.0:1
was 21.4:1
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 | 336 | 16 | 21.0:1 | 86% (290) |
| 2023-24 | 323 | 13 | 24.9:1 | 89% (289) |
| 2022-23 | 426 | 17 | 25.1:1 | 90% (382) |
| 2020-21 | 427 | 20 | 21.4:1 | 90% (383) |
| 2017-18 | 429 | 20 | 21.4:1 | 90% (385) |
| 2015-16 | 541 | 18 | 30.1:1 | 69% (375) |
| 2010-11 | 345 | 18 | 19.2:1 | 72% (249) |
| 2000-01 | 685 | 35 | 19.6:1 | 24% (166) |
| 1990-91 | 469 | 25 | 18.8:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Smith Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students down 22% (429 to 336); teachers down 20% (20 to 16).
About Smith Middle School
Smith Middle School is a small middle school in Birmingham City, located in Birmingham, Alabama. Federal data show 336 students enrolled in grades 6 through 8 in 2024-25. Across middle schools in Alabama, the average enrollment is about 508.
Smith Middle School is part of a district of 43 schools: Birmingham City, with 20,954 students.
Roughly 84% of students at Smith Middle School are Black. Enrollment also includes 12% Hispanic and 3% multiracial. Among people living in Jefferson County, the Black share is about 42%. The diversity index for Smith Middle School is 29%. For US public schools as a whole it is 70%.
Staffing at Smith Middle School comes to 16 full-time-equivalent teachers, or 21.0:1. By comparison, the average for middle schools in Alabama is 17.9:1. Smith Middle School counts 86% of students as eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That is higher than the 52% average for public schools in Jefferson County.
Smith Middle School holds an F allk12 Grade, placing it above 4% of Alabama public middle schools.
Based on its free or reduced-price lunch share, the BeatsExpectations model predicts an average proficiency rate across its state test results of 21.3% for Smith Middle School. The school posts 12.0%, 9.3 points below the prediction.
In the surrounding county, Jefferson County, median household income comes to about $66,388, about 36% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and roughly 11% of residents are in poverty. The county has 181 public schools and about 97,401 students.
Smith Middle School's closest public school neighbor is Huffman High SchoolMagnet, about 1.0 miles away. The five-mile area around Smith Middle School holds at least 8 other public schools. Ranking the closest schools with test data puts Smith Middle School at 8th of 9.
The school's setting, by NCES definition, is City: Mid-size: inside a principal city with a population between 100,000 and 250,000.
Over 4 years, enrollment decreased by 91 students, from 427 to 336.
This page collects posts and questions about Smith Middle School, such as open houses, carpools, and field trips. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.
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 Birmingham City
- Huffman High SchoolMagnetHigh · 1,094 students
- Parker High SchoolHigh · 942 students
- Glen Iris Elementary SchoolElementary · 827 students
- Huffman AcademyElementary · 779 students
- Ramsay High SchoolHigh · 762 students
- Woodlawn High SchoolMagnetHigh · 750 students
Other schools in Birmingham
- Oak Mountain High SchoolHigh · 1,648 students
- Oak Mountain Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,168 students
- Huffman High SchoolMagnetHigh · 1,094 students
- Parker High SchoolHigh · 942 students
- Fultondale High SchoolHigh · 848 students
- Glen Iris Elementary SchoolElementary · 827 students
Other Smith Middle schools
7 other US public schools in 6 states are named Smith Middle. Smith Middle School is the 8th largest of the 8.
- Smith Middle SchoolCYPRESS, TX · 1,091 students
- Smith Middle SchoolGlastonbury, CT · 875 students
- Smith MiddleChapel Hill, NC · 763 students
- Smith Middle SchoolTROY, MI · 599 students
- Smith Middle SchoolBEAUMONT, TX · 532 students
Nearby schools
- Huffman High SchoolMagnet1.0 mi · 1,094
- Huffman Middle School1.2 mi · 384
- Martha Gaskins K51.2 mi · 537
- Huffman Academy1.3 mi · 779
- Sun Valley Elementary School2.0 mi · 678
- Christian School2.2 mi · 574
Frequently asked questions
About Smith Middle SchoolHow many students attend Smith Middle School?
Smith Middle School enrolls approximately 336 students in grades 06-08.
Is Smith Middle School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Smith Middle School is a middle school covering grades 06-08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Smith Middle School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Smith Middle School is approximately 21.0:1 (16 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Smith Middle School?
At Smith Middle School, the student body is approximately 1% White, 12% Hispanic, 84% Black, 1% Asian, 3% Two or more.
Is Smith Middle School public or private?
Smith Middle School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Birmingham City.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.