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How has Westlawn Middle School changed in the last five years, for better or worse?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
568
Middle
DISTRICT 557 · STATE 508
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·TUSCALOOSA CITY·NCES 010336001268
Westlawn Middle School
1715 Martin L King Jr Blvd, Tuscaloosa, AL 35401 · (205) 759-3673 · Tuscaloosa County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE12-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL568 STUDENTS
C
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 25% of Alabama public middle schools
- DTest 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 middle schools
Student : Teacher
14.9:1
38 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 16.6:1 · STATE 17.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
88%
499 students
DISTRICT 58% · 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 6 | 203 | 36% |
| Grade 7 | 198 | 35% |
| Grade 8 | 167 | 29% |
Student demographics
25%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 51% · 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
31.8%
AL avg 52.7%
Math
6.5%
AL avg 31.8%
What this means: On the ACAP, Alabama's statewide test, about 32 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 7 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
19.4%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
20.2%
based on AL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-0.8pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 19% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 20% 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 Westlawn Middle School
Westlawn Middle School's state test result (19.4% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Westlawn Middle School this school | 568 | 87.9% | 19.4% |
| CL Scarborough Model Middle School Mobile | 641 | 86.1% | 22.6% |
| McKee Middle School Montgomery | 520 | 85.4% | 15.3% |
| Bellingrath Middle School Montgomery | 583 | 87.5% | 8.0% |
| Jones Valley Middle School Birmingham | 465 | 85.8% | 11.6% |
| Erwin Middle School Center Point | 585 | 82.1% | 13.4% |
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 Westlawn Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Alabama | In Tuscaloosa County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 19.4% | #223 of 260 | #13 of 13 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 6.5% | #229 of 260 | #13 of 13 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 31.8% | #225 of 260 | #13 of 13 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 568 | #92 of 265 | #6 of 13 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 14.9:1 | #27 of 244 | #1 of 12 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 25.0% | #207 of 246 | #11 of 12 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 87.9% | #19 of 264 | #1 of 13 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +46.0% | #9 of 79 | #3 of 8 |
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
568
+23 (+4%) vs 2020
-30% since 1990-91, when it was 815
Student : Teacher
14.9:1
was 15.6:1
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 | 568 | 38 | 14.9:1 | 88% (499) |
| 2023-24 | 539 | 33 | 16.3:1 | 93% (499) |
| 2022-23 | 534 | 30.5 | 17.5:1 | 93% (495) |
| 2020-21 | 545 | 35 | 15.6:1 | 92% (504) |
| 2017-18 | 389 | 24.6 | 15.8:1 | 93% (360) |
| 2015-16 | 392 | 24 | 16.3:1 | 72% (281) |
| 2010-11 | 404 | 41 | 9.8:1 | 93% (375) |
| 2000-01 | 595 | 48 | 12.4:1 | 95% (567) |
| 1990-91 | 815 | 42 | 19.4:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Westlawn Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students up 46% (389 to 568); teachers up 54% (24.6 to 38).
About Westlawn Middle School
Westlawn Middle School is a public middle-grades school run by Tuscaloosa City in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The school had 568 students in grades 6 through 8 in 2024-25.
Tuscaloosa City has 19 schools; together they serve 11,230 students.
Black students make up 86% of enrollment at Westlawn Middle School. The remaining students are 11% Hispanic. Census figures show Tuscaloosa County is about 31% Black. Pick two students at random and there is a 25% chance they belong to different racial or ethnic groups; that figure is the school's diversity index.
Westlawn Middle School employs 38 full-time-equivalent teachers. That gives a ratio of about 14.9:1. This ratio sits 3.0 below the 17.9:1 average for middle schools in Alabama. Free or reduced-price lunch eligibility was 88% in 2024-25. The 54% average for public schools in Tuscaloosa County is 34 points lower.
The allk12 Grade for Westlawn Middle School is C. Compared with Alabama public middle schools, the school scored higher than 25% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
On BeatsExpectations, Westlawn Middle School is within a point of its prediction, a result in the middle 80% of Alabama schools.
According to the American Community Survey, in Tuscaloosa County, the median household income is $66,231, 32% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 11% of people live in poverty. Westlawn Middle School is one of 58 public schools in the county.
The school nearest to Westlawn Middle School is Central Elementary School, at a distance of about 0.1 miles. A five-mile radius around the school includes at least 8 other public schools. By average proficiency, Westlawn Middle School is 7th among 8 schools close by.
Westlawn Middle School has an NCES locale of City: Mid-size.
Compared with 2020-21, the school had 23 more students in 2024-25.
Posts about school events, clubs, and volunteer needs are welcome on this page. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
Tuscaloosa County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
237,552
Census ACS
Median income
$66,231
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
32%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
11%
Below federal line
Schools in county
58
30,508 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Tuscaloosa City
- Northridge High SchoolHigh · 1,153 students
- Paul W Bryant High SchoolHigh · 1,134 students
- Central High SchoolHigh · 796 students
- Northridge Middle SchoolMiddle · 775 students
- Eastwood Middle SchoolMiddle · 711 students
- Rock Quarry Elementary SchoolElementary · 671 students
Other schools in Tuscaloosa
- Hillcrest High SchoolHigh · 1,434 students
- Northridge High SchoolHigh · 1,153 students
- Central High SchoolHigh · 796 students
- Northridge Middle SchoolMiddle · 775 students
- Rock Quarry Elementary SchoolElementary · 671 students
- Southview Elementary SchoolElementary · 644 students
Nearby schools
- Central Elementary School0.1 mi · 291
- Martin L King Jr Elementary School0.5 mi · 467
- CollinsRiverside Middle School1.5 mi · 318
- Oakdale Elementary School1.5 mi · 292
- Central High School1.5 mi · 796
- Matthews Elementary School1.6 mi · 401
Frequently asked questions
About Westlawn Middle SchoolHow many students attend Westlawn Middle School?
Westlawn Middle School enrolls approximately 568 students in grades 06-08.
What grades does Westlawn Middle School serve?
Westlawn Middle School serves grades 06-08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Westlawn Middle School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Westlawn Middle School is approximately 14.9:1 (38 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Westlawn Middle School?
At Westlawn Middle School, the student body is approximately 1% White, 11% Hispanic, 86% Black, 1% Asian, 1% Two or more.
Is Westlawn Middle School public or private?
Westlawn Middle School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Tuscaloosa City.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.