Schools · Tuscaloosa
Tuscaloosa, AL schools
Tuscaloosa’s public schools score well below Alabama’s averages: 40% of students are proficient in reading against 45.4% statewide, and 90% of high schoolers graduate on time against 90.6%. Kids attend one of 11 schools through grade 8, then one of 12 middle schools, one of 5 middle schools and Northridge High School or Paul W Bryant High School or Central High School.
Grades, test scores, graduation, spending and every school, from U.S. Department of Education data.
TownTapestry School GradeNew
C+
Tuscaloosa’s School Grade: C+
The public schools Tuscaloosa’s kids attend, from kindergarten through graduation, trail 59% of Alabama’s districts on state tests and graduation. Among towns with similar incomes, they sit near the middle.
B-Test scoresCGraduation
Alabama school districts we grade (143)Better than 41%
Lower resultsHigher results
Alabama towns with similar household incomes (257)Better than 37%
High confidence. Built on 5,138 tested students and a graduating class of 793; ordinary year-to-year swings are unlikely to change the grade.
How the School Grade works
- Results, not inputs. Math and reading proficiency on Alabama’s state tests, each against the state average, plus the four-year graduation rate. Spending and class size are shown below but don’t count toward the grade. Tests: 2020–21; graduation: class of 2020.
- The whole path. A town’s grade follows its kids: every district that serves it, weighted by the number of students tested in each. Tests count 60% and graduation 40%.
- Graded within the state. Each state writes its own tests, so districts are lined up against the rest of Alabama only. A+ top 5%A next 10%A- next 10%B B+ to B−, next 30%C C+ to C−, next 30%D D and D−, bottom 15%
- Individual schools are graded the same way on their own test results, against every public school in Alabama with 25+ students. Private schools aren’t graded: they don’t take the state tests.
- What a grade can’t tell you. Test results track family income closely, so a high grade partly reflects who lives in a town. That’s why we also compare towns with similar incomes. Visit, ask other parents, and read neighbor reviews. It’s our own summary of U.S. Department of Education data, not an official rating.
School path
Where Tuscaloosa kids go to school
Grades 9–12
B+Northridge High School or D-Paul W Bryant High School or C-Central High School
Depends on your address Tuscaloosa City School DistrictBased on district boundaries from the U.S. Department of Education. Check with the district before you enroll.
Test scores · 2020–21
Well below the state in reading
Reading (grades PK–12, Tuscaloosa City)40%
State average 45.4%
Math (grades PK–12, Tuscaloosa City)19%
State average 22%
Graduation · class of 2020
90% graduate on time
Graduation rate
90%
AL: 90.6%
Graduating class
793
students
The share of students who started ninth grade together and earned a regular diploma within four years. #122 of 193 AL towns →
Districts
The district serving Tuscaloosa
Each district’s own page has its spending, test scores, enrollment and every school.
Colleges
Tuscaloosa is home to 3 colleges
The University of AlabamaUniversity or college · Public · Tuscaloosa33,624on campusShelton State Community CollegeCommunity college · Public · Tuscaloosa2,924on campusStillman CollegeUniversity or college · Private nonprofit · Tuscaloosa621on campus
All 3 colleges in Tuscaloosa →Every school
All 28 schools in Tuscaloosa
Showing 1–28 of 28 schools
Rock Quarry Elementary SchoolElementary · Grades PK–5 · 671 students
A+PublicSouthview Elementary SchoolElementary · Grades PK–5 · 644 students
C-PublicThe Alberta School of Performing ArtsElementary · Grades PK–8 · 632 students
C+PublicVerner Elementary SchoolElementary · Grades PK–5 · 608 students
A+PublicUniversity Place Elementary SchoolElementary · Grades PK–5 · 570 students
C+PublicWoodland Forrest Elementary SchoolElementary · Grades PK–5 · 544 students
C+PublicMartin L King Jr Elementary SchoolElementary · Grades PK–5 · 467 students
DPublicSkyland Elementary SchoolElementary · Grades PK–5 · 459 students
DPublicArcadia Elementary SchoolElementary · Grades PK–5 · 418 students
CPublicTuscaloosa Magnet School ElementaryElementary · Grades 1–5 · 324 students
A+PublicOakdale Elementary SchoolElementary · Grades PK–5 · 292 students
DPublicCentral Elementary SchoolElementary · Grades PK–5 · 291 students
DPublicNorthridge Middle SchoolMiddle · Grades 6–8 · 775 students
A-PublicEastwood Middle SchoolMiddle · Grades 6–8 · 711 students
C-PublicWestlawn Middle SchoolMiddle · Grades 6–8 · 568 students
DPublicTuscaloosa Magnet School MiddleMiddle · Grades 6–8 · 173 students
APublicNorthridge High SchoolHigh · Grades 9–12 · 1,153 students
B+PublicPaul W Bryant High SchoolHigh · Grades 9–12 · 1,134 students
D-PublicCentral High SchoolHigh · Grades 9–12 · 796 students
C-PublicTuscaloosa Career and Technology AcademyHigh · Grades 9–12
PublicTuscaloosa County Juvenile Detention CenterHigh · Grades 7–12
PublicI Dream Big Charter SchoolsGrades M
CharterSTARS AcademyOther · Grades K–12
PublicAmerican Christian AcademyOther · Grades PK–12 · 1,095 students
PrivateHoly Spirit Catholic SchoolOther · Grades PK–12 · 475 students
PrivateTuscaloosa AcademyOther · Grades PK–12 · 460 students
PrivateThe Capitol SchoolOther · Grades PK–12 · 183 students
PrivateBear Creek AcademyOther · Grades PK–12 · 64 students
PrivateSchool data from the U.S. Department of Education (NCES). Ratings are from neighbors on TownTapestry.