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Honest take: what's the hardest part about being a student at Whitesburg Middle School?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
535
Middle
DISTRICT 442 · STATE 508
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·HUNTSVILLE CITY·NCES 010180001531
Whitesburg Middle School
107 Sanders Rd, Huntsville, AL 35802 · (256) 428-7780 · Madison County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE12-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL535 STUDENTS
D
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 10% of Alabama public middle schools
- C-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- FBeats 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
18.4:1
29 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 17.9:1 · STATE 17.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
58%
310 students
DISTRICT 50% · 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 | 171 | 32% |
| Grade 7 | 179 | 33% |
| Grade 8 | 185 | 35% |
Student demographics
70%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 69% · 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
37.7%
AL avg 52.7%
Math
11.2%
AL avg 31.8%
What this means: On the ACAP, Alabama's statewide test, about 38 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 11 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
25.2%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
41.9%
based on AL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-16.6pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 25% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 42% 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 Whitesburg Middle School
Whitesburg Middle School's state test result (25.2% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whitesburg Middle School this school | 535 | 57.9% | 25.2% |
| Decatur Middle School Decatur | 818 | 63.6% | 35.0% |
| Austin Middle School Decatur | 727 | 64.8% | 38.5% |
| Foley Middle School Foley | 823 | 62.8% | 37.8% |
| Jemison Intermediate School Jemison | 468 | 67.3% | 34.6% |
| Rudd Middle School Pinson | 648 | 71.3% | 22.9% |
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 Whitesburg Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Alabama | In Madison County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 25.2% | #200 of 260 | #16 of 19 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 11.2% | #198 of 260 | #16 of 19 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 37.7% | #212 of 260 | #17 of 19 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 535 | #100 of 265 | #11 of 19 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 18.4:1 | #140 of 244 | #8 of 18 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 70.5% | #2 of 246 | #1 of 18 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 57.9% | #138 of 264 | #5 of 19 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -47.7% | #6 of 151 | #2 of 6 |
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
535
-69 (-11%) vs 2020
-18% since 1990-91, when it was 650
Student : Teacher
18.4:1
was 18.9:1
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 | 535 | 29 | 18.4:1 | 58% (310) |
| 2023-24 | 567 | 27.5 | 20.6:1 | 48% (271) |
| 2022-23 | 539 | 28 | 19.3:1 | 48% (258) |
| 2020-21 | 604 | 32 | 18.9:1 | 48% (290) |
| 2017-18 | 1,022 | 59.8 | 17.1:1 | 47% (476) |
| 2015-16 | 1,036 | 59 | 17.6:1 | 38% (392) |
| 2010-11 | 603 | 47 | 12.8:1 | 33% (197) |
| 2000-01 | 568 | 38 | 14.9:1 | 8% (45) |
| 1990-91 | 650 | 39 | 16.7:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Whitesburg Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students down 48% (1,022 to 535); teachers down 51% (59.8 to 29).
About Whitesburg Middle School
Whitesburg Middle School is a mid-sized middle school in Huntsville, Alabama, under Huntsville City. The school counted 535 students in 2024-25, covering grades 6 through 8.
Huntsville City counts 24,222 students in its 44 schools, and Whitesburg Middle School is one of them.
Hispanic students account for 36% of enrollment at Whitesburg Middle School, more than any other group. Other groups make up 32% Black, 25% White, and 6% multiracial. County-wide, 7% of Madison County residents are Hispanic. Measured by the diversity index, the student body scores 70%.
With 29 full-time-equivalent teachers, the student-to-teacher ratio is about 18.4:1. The average ratio among middle schools in Alabama is similar, at 17.9:1. Roughly 58% of students come from households that qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Public schools in Madison County average 41%.
Whitesburg Middle School holds a D allk12 Grade, placing it above 10% of Alabama public middle schools.
A school with Whitesburg Middle School's lunch-eligibility share in Alabama is predicted to score 41.9%. Whitesburg Middle School scores 25.2%, 16.6 points below that line.
For Madison County, Census Bureau data show the median household earns about $86,499 a year, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 46%, and roughly 7% of residents are in poverty. There are 89 public schools in the county, enrolling about 55,800, Whitesburg Middle School among them.
Less than a tenth of a mile separates Whitesburg Middle School from the closest public school, Whitesburg Elementary School. Within five miles are at least 8 other public schools. On average proficiency, Whitesburg Middle School is 7th of 8 nearby schools with test data.
NCES describes the area around Whitesburg Middle School as City: Mid-size, meaning inside a principal city with a population between 100,000 and 250,000.
An 11% decline took enrollment from 604 in 2020-21 to 535 in 2024-25.
The allk12 page for Whitesburg Middle School lets the school community talk about special education services, counseling, and support programs. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.
Madison County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
405,718
Census ACS
Median income
$86,499
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
46%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
89
55,800 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Huntsville City
- Virgil Grissom High SchoolHigh · 1,847 students
- Huntsville High SchoolHigh · 1,807 students
- Providence ElementaryElementary · 1,152 students
- GoldsmithSchiffman ElementaryElementary · 935 students
- Columbia High SchoolHigh · 916 students
- Lee High SchoolHigh · 877 students
Other schools in Huntsville
- Virgil Grissom High SchoolHigh · 1,847 students
- Huntsville High SchoolHigh · 1,807 students
- Providence ElementaryElementary · 1,152 students
- Monrovia Middle SchoolMiddle · 988 students
- Columbia High SchoolHigh · 916 students
- Lee High SchoolHigh · 877 students
Other Whitesburg Middle schools
One other US public school is named Whitesburg Middle. Whitesburg Middle School is the largest of the 2.
- Whitesburg Middle SchoolWhitesburg, KY · 191 students
Nearby schools
- Whitesburg Elementary School0.0 mi · 379
- Roger B Chaffee Elementary School1.3 mi · 396
- Jones Valley Elementary School1.8 mi · 471
- Virgil Grissom High School2.2 mi · 1,847
- Weatherly Heights Elementary School2.3 mi · 472
- Huntsville High School2.9 mi · 1,807
Frequently asked questions
About Whitesburg Middle SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Whitesburg Middle School?
Whitesburg Middle School enrolls approximately 535 students in grades 06-08.
What grades does Whitesburg Middle School serve?
Whitesburg Middle School serves grades 06-08.
How many teachers does Whitesburg Middle School have?
Whitesburg Middle School employs 29 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 18.4:1.
How diverse is Whitesburg Middle School?
Whitesburg Middle School reports a student body of 25% White, 36% Hispanic, 32% Black, 1% Asian, 6% Two or more.
What district is Whitesburg Middle School in?
Whitesburg Middle School is part of Huntsville City.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.