1
What do students at Valley Head High School actually talk about outside of class?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
517
Combined
DISTRICT 894 · STATE 673
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·DEKALB COUNTY·NCES 010114000425
Valley Head High School
235 1st Ave, Valley Head, AL 35989 · (256) 635-6228 · DeKalb County
GRADES PK–12COMBINED42-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL517 STUDENTS
B-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 46% of Alabama public K-12 schools
- CTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- BBeats 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 K-12 schools
Student : Teacher
14.8:1
35 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 16.1:1 · STATE 17.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
70%
362 students
DISTRICT 67% · STATE 58%
Community
6
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other combined schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 18 | 3% |
| Kindergarten | 47 | 9% |
| Grade 1 | 41 | 8% |
| Grade 2 | 29 | 6% |
| Grade 3 | 45 | 9% |
| Grade 4 | 40 | 8% |
| Grade 5 | 33 | 6% |
| Grade 6 | 34 | 7% |
| Grade 7 | 42 | 8% |
| Grade 8 | 33 | 6% |
| Grade 9 | 44 | 9% |
| Grade 10 | 35 | 7% |
| Grade 11 | 36 | 7% |
| Grade 12 | 40 | 8% |
This year's kindergarten class (47) is 42% larger than its 8th grade class (33).
Student demographics
49%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 60% · 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
43.1%
AL avg 52.7%
Math
29.7%
AL avg 31.8%
What this means: On the ACAP, Alabama's statewide test, about 43 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 30 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
33.0%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
33.1%
based on AL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-0.1pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 33% 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 Valley Head High School
Valley Head High School's state test result (33.0% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Valley Head High School this school | 517 | 70.0% | 33.0% |
| Verbena High School Verbena | 589 | 66.6% | 26.1% |
| Geraldine School Geraldine | 1,211 | 61.6% | 43.3% |
| Ragland High School Ragland | 411 | 67.6% | 31.5% |
| Highland Home School Highland Home | 746 | 64.6% | 31.6% |
| Wadley High School Wadley | 372 | 59.7% | 29.0% |
Matched among Alabama K-12 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 Valley Head High School ranks
Among K-12 schools| Measure | This school | In Alabama | In DeKalb County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 33.0% | #45 of 62 | #6 of 7 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 29.7% | #28 of 62 | #5 of 7 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 43.1% | #49 of 62 | #6 of 7 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 517 | #36 of 69 | #7 of 7 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 14.8:1 | #9 of 61 | #1 of 7 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 49.1% | #12 of 61 | #4 of 7 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 70.0% | #13 of 65 | #2 of 7 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +8.8% | #9 of 21 | N/A |
Ranked against other public K-12 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
517
+98 (+23%) vs 2020
+4% since 1990-91, when it was 497
Student : Teacher
14.8:1
was 13.1:1
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 | 517 | 35 | 14.8:1 | 70% (362) |
| 2023-24 | 492 | 35 | 14.1:1 | 67% (330) |
| 2022-23 | 486 | 35 | 13.9:1 | 67% (327) |
| 2020-21 | 419 | 32 | 13.1:1 | 66% (277) |
| 2017-18 | 475 | 32.6 | 14.6:1 | 80% (380) |
| 2015-16 | 482 | 35 | 13.8:1 | 81% (392) |
| 2010-11 | 509 | N/A | N/A | 81% (411) |
| 2000-01 | 487 | 34 | 14.3:1 | 47% (229) |
| 1990-91 | 497 | 28 | 17.8:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Valley Head High School.
Since 2017-18: students up 9% (475 to 517); teachers up 7% (32.6 to 35).
About Valley Head High School
Valley Head High School is a small combined-grade school. Its address is in Valley Head, Alabama. The school reports 517 students in pre-K through 12. The school's enrollment is 23% smaller than the 673 average for combined schools in Alabama.
DeKalb County (12 schools, 8,769 students) runs Valley Head High School.
Valley Head High School is 67% White by enrollment. Other students are 25% Hispanic, 6% Native American, and 2% multiracial. By comparison, DeKalb County residents are about 80% White. Pick two students at random and there is a 49% chance they belong to different racial or ethnic groups; that figure is the school's diversity index.
Valley Head High School operates with 35 full-time-equivalent teachers, a ratio of about 14.8:1. That is lower than the 17.9:1 average for combined schools in Alabama. About 70% of students at the school meet free or reduced-price lunch income limits.
allk12 grades Valley Head High School a B-. The grade compares the school only with Alabama public K-12 schools, because each state gives its own test.
BeatsExpectations compares each school's average proficiency rate on state tests with a prediction based on free or reduced-price lunch eligibility. For Valley Head High School, the prediction is 33.1% and the result is 33.0%.
County data help place the school in context: in DeKalb County, the median household income is $51,204, about 14% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and roughly 16% of residents are in poverty. In all, DeKalb County has 20 public schools and roughly 12,277 students.
The shortest distance from Valley Head High School to another public school is about 5.8 miles, to Little Ridge Intermediate School. Other public schools within ten miles: 6. Valley Head High School comes in 5th of 7 nearby schools on average proficiency.
For locale, NCES codes Valley Head High School as Rural: Distant.
Federal data show a 23% enrollment gain, from 419 in 2020-21 to 517 in 2024-25. Over the same period, the student-to-teacher ratio rose to 14.8:1, from 13.1:1.
Discussion on this page can cover science fairs, picture day, and bus routes. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
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 DeKalb County
- Geraldine SchoolCombined · 1,211 students
- Plainview SchoolCombined · 1,167 students
- Fyffe High SchoolCombined · 954 students
- Sylvania SchoolCombined · 915 students
- Collinsville High SchoolCombined · 906 students
- Crossville Middle SchoolMiddle · 770 students
Nearby schools
- Little Ridge Intermediate School5.8 mi · 792
- Fort Payne Middle School5.9 mi · 741
- Fort Payne High School6.3 mi · 1,106
- Wills Valley Elementary School6.8 mi · 738
- Williams Avenue Elementary School9.2 mi · 131
- Menlo Elementary School9.9 mi · 352
Frequently asked questions
About Valley Head High SchoolHow large is Valley Head High School?
Valley Head High School enrolls approximately 517 students in grades PK-12.
Is Valley Head High School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Valley Head High School is a combined-grade school covering grades PK-12.
How many students per teacher at Valley Head High School?
Approximately 14.8:1 students per teacher at Valley Head High School.
What is the student diversity at Valley Head High School?
Student demographics at Valley Head High School are roughly 67% White, 25% Hispanic, 1% Black, 2% Two or more.
Is Valley Head High School public or private?
Valley Head High School is a public K-12 school, overseen by DeKalb County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.