NCES CCD 2024-25 6 schools AL

Best-Resourced Schools in Valley, AL

Compiled from official source data by .

6 public K-12 schools in Valley from NCES Common Core of Data: enrollment, grade span, demographics, and Civil Rights Data Collection statistics for every active campus.

PlainSchools home → About this data
6
Schools
3,389
Students
35.3/100
Avg Resource Index
17.7:1
Avg Student-Teacher Ratio

National city placement

Lean reported-resource profile

According to NCES CCD 2024-25, Valley has more public-school enrollment than 34% of the 4,487 US cities in this directory. Valley's average Resource Investment Index falls in the lower portion of the 4,487-city comparison set. The index is a resource snapshot, not an academic grade: it reflects the federal staffing, counselor, gifted-program, and attendance fields available for local campuses. The most useful next step is to open the individual schools below and identify which component is pulling each score down, because the same city average can hide very different campus-level constraints.

Combined-grade campuses shape the local portfolio

4 of Valley's 6 listed schools use NCES's combined or “other” grade-level classification. Citywide averages therefore blend campuses serving unusually broad or nonstandard grade spans with conventional elementary, middle, and high schools. Grade configuration is a first-order comparison here, not a minor label.

Campus spread matters more than the city mean

The 14-point gap between W F Burns Middle School and Valley High School shows the range hidden by Valley's average Resource Investment Index. The city figure is useful for national placement, but families ultimately choose among campuses with different grade spans, enrollment, district affiliations, and reported support fields. Start with schools serving the relevant grade level, then compare the index components rather than assuming the city average describes any one classroom.

City enrollment
Top 66%
School count
Top 79%
Resource Index average
26th percentile
Teacher staffing
28th percentile

Beulah Elementary School accounts for 20.5% of all Valley public-school enrollment

That concentration means Valley-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the largest entity. Grade level: Combined. The share measures enrollment concentration only; it does not establish how districts allocate programs, capital, or staff. Enrollment-weighted aggregates give this entity more weight than any smaller peer, while an unweighted entity average treats every record equally.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Valley school enrollment varies 3.0× across entities

Valley school enrollment ranges from 232 students (lowest) to 696 students (highest), a spread of 464 students. That relatively narrow ratio reflects an unusually homogeneous school portfolio for a city this size. Per-school staffing and program breadth can differ sharply at opposite ends of that enrollment range, so the city average should not be treated as a typical campus.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Valley reports 54.4% free-lunch eligibility

The reported share clears the 50% majority mark. Title I operates under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA, 2015), but its statutory allocation uses additional LEA-level counts and rules not represented by this average. This percentage is an economic-need context measure; it does not establish a Title I award, show dollars received, or describe how funds are distributed among campuses.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Valley student-teacher ratio is 17.7:1 — near the typical range (US average ~15.7) — citywide staffing is neither unusually lean nor unusually crowded by this measure

student-teacher ratio is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: the ratio counts FTE classroom teachers against total enrollment, push-in specialists, English-language aides, special-education co-teachers, and counselors are not included in most reporting Variation between sub-units within Valley is typically wider than the Valley-aggregate figure suggests.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data, Public School Universe

# School Score
1. W F Burns Middle School 43
2. Fairfax Elementary School 41
3. Beulah Elementary School 37
4. Bob Hardingshawmut Elementary 33
5. Valley High School 29
6. Beulah High School 29

Most racially and ethnically mixed schools in Valley

Ranked by the Simpson student-body diversity index (0-100) from NCES race and ethnicity data, where higher means a more evenly mixed student body. It measures mix, not quality.

  1. 1 Bob Hardingshawmut Elementary 69.0/100
  2. 2 Fairfax Elementary School 63.4/100
  3. 3 W F Burns Middle School 61.8/100
  4. 4 Valley High School 60.4/100
  5. 5 Beulah High School 48.7/100

What do families ask about schools in Valley?

Which Valley school has the highest Resource Investment Index? ▼

W F Burns Middle School has the highest Resource Investment Index among the Valley schools in this federal-data comparison at 43/100. The index summarizes reported staffing, counseling, gifted-program, and attendance inputs; it is not an academic rating.

How many schools are in Valley, AL? ▼

Valley has 6 public schools with a total enrollment of 3,389 students. Average student-teacher ratio: 17.7:1.

Other Cities in Alabama

Birmingham
59 schools
Mobile
57 schools
Montgomery
52 schools
Huntsville
47 schools
Tuscaloosa
23 schools
Decatur
20 schools

Side-by-side: Compare any two schools or districts in Alabama →

Data from NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 and Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) 2021-22. The Resource Investment Index uses reported student-teacher ratio, counselor access, gifted programs, and attendance; it is not an academic rating. Cities must include at least five schools to be listed. This public-data comparison is for informational purposes: verify current enrollment, attendance boundaries, and programs with the school district before acting. See the guide to understanding NCES data.