Athens High School

Summary:

Athens High School is a public high school serving 1,173 students in grades 9-12 in Athens, Alabama, with a diverse student population that includes 55.67% White, 15.35% African American, 18.76% Hispanic, and other racial groups.

Athens High School consistently ranks among the top high schools in Alabama, ranking 42nd out of 378 schools in the state for the 2023-2024 school year and receiving a 4-star rating from SchoolDigger. The school's strong academic performance is reflected in its students' test scores, which outperform the state and district averages in Mathematics, Science, and English. Athens High School's performance is particularly strong for African American and White students, ranking 26th and 40th out of all Alabama high schools, respectively, with 4-star ratings. The school also benefits from a relatively low student-teacher ratio of 17.3 and higher-than-average per-student funding of $13,356.

While Athens High School's diverse student population is a strength, the school has seen a slight decline in diversity over the past few years, with the percentage of White students increasing and the percentage of Hispanic students also rising. Additionally, there are significant disparities in the performance of certain student subgroups, with Hispanic and Native American students performing lower than their White and African American peers. Compared to nearby high schools, such as Bob Jones High School and James Clemens High School, Athens High School generally outperforms its peers, though the region has a competitive educational landscape. The school's free and reduced-lunch rate, which has fluctuated between 32.92% and 50.9%, suggests that socioeconomic factors may play a role in the observed performance disparities.


Detail:

Public 9-12

 655 Hwy 31 North
       Athens, AL  35611


(256) 233-6613

District: Athens City

SchoolDigger Rank:
42nd of 378 Alabama High Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures:  $13,356 Help


Feeder schools for Athens High School:

Elementary:    Athens Elementary School
    Athens Intermediate School
    Brookhill Elementary School
    James L Cowart Elementary School
    More...
Middle:    Athens Middle School

Student/teacher ratio:  17.5 Help
Number of students:  1,228

Racial breakdown:

White:
52.8%
Hispanic:
22.2%
African American:
15.6%
more

Free/discounted lunch recipients:  51.9% Help


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Performance Trends
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Compare Details Athens High School ranks better than 88.9% of high schools in Alabama. (See more...)
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Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 85.72. (See more...)
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The four-year cohort graduation rate measures the percentage of students at Athens High School who earn a standard high school diploma within four years of starting ninth grade.
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The high school dropout rate measures the percentage of students who do not complete their high school education.
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Chronic absenteeism in a school refers to a situation where students repeatedly miss school, with the threshold often defined as missing 10% or more of school days for any reason, excused or unexcused.
Student Body
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Compare Details Student population at Athens High School is diverse. Racial makeup is: White (52.8%), Hispanic (22.2%), African American (15.6%). (See more...)
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Compare Details 51.9% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)
Teachers
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Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Athens High School is 17.5. (See more...)
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Compare Athens High School employs 69.8 full-time teachers.
Finance
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Compare Details The average total spent per student at Athens High School is $13,356.
Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Athens High School:

SchoolDigger ranks Athens High School 42nd of 378 Alabama public high schools. (See Athens High School in the ranking list.)

High School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:


Multi-racial students:
English Language Learner students:
Special Education students:
Low Socio Economic Status students:
Female students:
Male students:
African American students:
Hispanic students:
Native American students:
White students:




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Rank History for Athens High School

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Rank History for all students at Athens High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools AL State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2004 85.36 18th 357 95.0%
2005 79.84 32nd 359 91.1%
2006 80.37 27th 357 92.4%
2007 76.86 53rd 358 85.2%
2008 84.28 19th 359 94.7%
2009 85.46 16th 357 95.5%
2010 84.48 17th 358 95.3%
2011 81.96 28th 360 92.2%
2012 81.37 23rd 358 93.6%
2013 76.94 12th 358 96.6%
2014 86.93 30th 358 91.6%
2015 82.46 43rd 353 87.8%
2016 82.49 40th 351 88.6%
2017 80.65 52nd 353 85.3%
2018 79.49 66th 356 81.5%
2019 80.52 57th 366 84.4%
2021 84.41 46th 371 87.6%
2022 82.41 51st 367 86.1%
2023 64.26 110th 371 70.4%
2024 85.72 42nd 378 88.9%
See the entire list of Alabama High School Rankings!

Rank History for Multi-racial students at Athens High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools AL State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 68.95 8th 24 66.7%
2019 36.60 25th 37 32.4%
2021 28.26 29th 43 32.6%
2022 51.86 22nd 40 45.0%
2023 34.77 25th 45 44.4%
2024 49.38 29th 56 48.2%
See the entire list of Best Alabama High Schools for Multi-racial Students!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Athens High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools AL State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2024 26.32 48th 63 23.8%
See the entire list of Best Alabama High Schools for English Language Learner Students!

Rank History for Special Education students at Athens High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools AL State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 47.25 65th 160 59.4%
2019 56.22 58th 171 66.1%
2021 39.70 118th 196 39.8%
2022 62.64 51st 169 69.8%
2023 35.28 111th 182 39.0%
2024 56.83 59th 198 70.2%
See the entire list of Best Alabama High Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Athens High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools AL State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2017 48.48 141st 315 55.2%
2018 56.38 143rd 349 59.0%
2019 74.73 75th 358 79.1%
2021 60.20 119th 361 67.0%
2022 48.56 167th 361 53.7%
2023 56.58 120th 349 65.6%
2024 65.07 104th 375 72.3%
See the entire list of Best Alabama High Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at Athens High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools AL State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2017 77.62 61st 343 82.2%
2018 72.05 90th 347 74.1%
2019 74.36 77th 354 78.2%
2021 84.38 45th 359 87.5%
2022 73.41 82nd 367 77.7%
2023 69.60 96th 358 73.2%
2024 83.11 49th 366 86.6%
See the entire list of Best Alabama High Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Male students at Athens High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools AL State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2017 78.02 56th 339 83.5%
2018 82.38 52nd 350 85.1%
2019 82.57 48th 357 86.6%
2021 80.36 60th 366 83.6%
2022 87.63 38th 366 89.6%
2023 52.81 137th 358 61.7%
2024 84.58 39th 368 89.4%
See the entire list of Best Alabama High Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for African American students at Athens High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools AL State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2017 41.15 103rd 189 45.5%
2018 42.70 113th 223 49.3%
2019 63.36 58th 224 74.1%
2021 70.43 31st 228 86.4%
2022 43.35 101st 222 54.5%
2023 46.69 100th 224 55.4%
2024 83.86 26th 231 88.7%
See the entire list of Best Alabama High Schools for African American Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Athens High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools AL State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2017 31.94 62nd 93 33.3%
2018 39.71 55th 95 42.1%
2019 65.85 28th 103 72.8%
2021 32.82 75th 113 33.6%
2022 37.75 66th 114 42.1%
2023 30.07 82nd 122 32.8%
2024 45.71 64th 139 54.0%
See the entire list of Best Alabama High Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for Native American students at Athens High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools AL State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 18.30 35th 40 12.5%
2022 53.66 15th 40 62.5%
2023 20.92 36th 45 20.0%
2024 33.40 35th 55 36.4%
See the entire list of Best Alabama High Schools for Native American Students!

Rank History for White students at Athens High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools AL State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2017 86.97 24th 230 89.6%
2018 92.24 25th 300 91.7%
2019 81.51 50th 313 84.0%
2021 85.77 40th 319 87.5%
2022 84.09 40th 326 87.7%
2023 59.06 109th 317 65.6%
2024 83.67 40th 325 87.7%
See the entire list of Best Alabama High Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: Alabama State Department of Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Athens High School Test Scores
Tests: 
  
Grades: 
  
Years: 
  
Group by: 
District Scores:
State Scores:    
  
Subgroup: 



Data source: Alabama State Department of Education

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Enrollment information for Athens High School

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Year White African American Asian Hispanic American Indian Pacific Islander Two or More Races Not Specified Total
1988 0 0 0 0 0 n/a n/a 826 826
1989 607 216 10 4 0 n/a n/a 0 837
1990 592 205 14 3 0 n/a n/a 0 814
1991 562 200 10 2 1 n/a n/a 0 775
1992 577 188 9 2 2 n/a n/a 0 778
1993 598 189 10 5 4 n/a n/a 0 806
1994 588 209 11 6 2 n/a n/a 0 816
1995 605 205 10 8 0 n/a n/a 0 828
1996 605 205 10 8 0 n/a n/a 0 828
1997 597 193 11 22 3 n/a n/a 0 826
1998 620 177 11 22 3 n/a n/a 0 833
1999 598 180 6 15 3 n/a n/a 0 802
2000 572 191 14 16 0 n/a n/a 0 793
2001 554 184 16 28 0 n/a n/a 1 783
2002 589 185 12 45 0 n/a n/a 0 831
2003 589 185 12 45 0 n/a n/a 0 831
2004 557 188 10 34 1 n/a n/a 0 790
2005 558 201 6 47 5 n/a n/a 0 817
2006 550 194 7 52 8 n/a n/a 0 811
2007 536 218 5 67 6 n/a n/a 2 834
2008 548 242 13 77 9 n/a n/a 0 889
2009 558 233 8 81 9 n/a n/a 0 889
2010 572 214 6 79 7 n/a n/a 1 879
2011 568 225 8 70 8 0 0 0 879
2012 550 230 9 82 6 0 5 0 882
2013 531 230 16 88 4 1 3 0 873
2014 529 246 16 90 4 2 3 0 890
2015 564 264 19 106 3 2 3 0 961
2016 763 295 18 136 10 2 10 0 1234
2017 540 238 23 147 11 2 44 0 1005
2018 532 222 18 159 8 1 52 0 992
2019 564 216 16 174 9 3 60 0 1042
2020 586 192 20 178 8 3 69 0 1056
2021 648 201 13 174 9 1 68 0 1114
2022 656 187 23 188 6 1 60 0 1121
2023 653 180 31 220 8 1 80 0 1173
2024 648 191 27 273 6 2 81 0 1228

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Athens High School

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Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 826 38.5 21.4 0
1989 837 42.0 19.9 n/a
1990 814 42.0 19.3 0
1991 775 41.0 18.9 n/a
1992 778 40.0 19.4 n/a
1993 806 41.0 19.7 n/a
1994 816 49.7 16.4 n/a
1995 828 48.4 17.1 n/a
1996 828 48.4 17.1 n/a
1997 826 49.6 16.7 12.3
1998 833 49.6 16.8 10.2
1999 802 58.0 13.8 10.8
2000 793 53.0 15.0 14.8
2001 783 53.5 14.6 15.2
2002 831 49.8 16.7 23.3
2003 831 49.8 16.7 23.3
2004 790 52.5 15.0 20.4
2005 817 51.5 15.9 20.7
2006 811 56.0 14.5 23.6
2007 834 55.4 15.1 27
2008 889 57.0 15.6 28
2009 889 61.4 14.3 29.1
2010 879 56.0 15.7 30.9
2011 879 58.0 15.1 33.8
2012 882 55.0 16.0 36.6
2013 873 56.0 15.5 42
2014 890 60.0 14.8 43.3
2015 961 52.0 18.4 43
2016 1234 56.0 22.0 43.9
2017 1005 57.0 17.6 45
2018 992 60.5 16.3 44.5
2019 1042 58.5 17.8 46.4
2020 1056 63.0 16.7 42.1
2021 1114 61.5 18.0 44.8
2022 1121 49.0 22.8 32.9
2023 1173 67.5 17.3 50.9
2024 1228 69.8 17.5 51.9

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio Athens High School

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Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 826 38.5 21.4 0
1989 837 42.0 19.9 n/a
1990 814 42.0 19.3 0
1991 775 41.0 18.9 n/a
1992 778 40.0 19.4 n/a
1993 806 41.0 19.7 n/a
1994 816 49.7 16.4 n/a
1995 828 48.4 17.1 n/a
1996 828 48.4 17.1 n/a
1997 826 49.6 16.7 12.3
1998 833 49.6 16.8 10.2
1999 802 58.0 13.8 10.8
2000 793 53.0 15.0 14.8
2001 783 53.5 14.6 15.2
2002 831 49.8 16.7 23.3
2003 831 49.8 16.7 23.3
2004 790 52.5 15.0 20.4
2005 817 51.5 15.9 20.7
2006 811 56.0 14.5 23.6
2007 834 55.4 15.1 27
2008 889 57.0 15.6 28
2009 889 61.4 14.3 29.1
2010 879 56.0 15.7 30.9
2011 879 58.0 15.1 33.8
2012 882 55.0 16.0 36.6
2013 873 56.0 15.5 42
2014 890 60.0 14.8 43.3
2015 961 52.0 18.4 43
2016 1234 56.0 22.0 43.9
2017 1005 57.0 17.6 45
2018 992 60.5 16.3 44.5
2019 1042 58.5 17.8 46.4
2020 1056 63.0 16.7 42.1
2021 1114 61.5 18.0 44.8
2022 1121 49.0 22.8 32.9
2023 1173 67.5 17.3 50.9
2024 1228 69.8 17.5 51.9

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.
Finances

Per Pupil Expenditures for Athens High School

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YearExpenditures from Federal FundsExpenditures from State and Local FundsTotal Expenditures Per Pupil (All Funds)
2019 $1,006 (7.5%) $12,338 (92.4%) $13,356

Data source: Alabama Department of Education
Pre and Post Pandemic Data

Impact of COVID-19 on Athens High School

The coronavirus has had a profound impact on education in America. Learning shifted online overnight, attendance numbers dwindled, and enrollment decreased. SchoolDigger.com is making it easier for you to better assess how COVID-19 has impacted your school. Through the collection of pre-pandemic (2019) and current data, SchoolDigger.com is sharing test scores, enrollment numbers and school demographics from schools across the country – and we make it easy to see how impacted schools compare locally and statewide.

Rankings

Rank
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Rank
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Ranks 57th of 366 High schoolsRanks 110th of 371 High schools
 14.1%

Test Scores

% proficient
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
% proficient
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
End of Course Mathematics (Athens High School)5534.7
 20.2%
   End of Course Mathematics (Athens City)53.833.5
 20.2%
   End of Course Mathematics (Alabama)42.523.6
 19%
End of Course Science (Athens High School)50.841.2
 9.6%
   End of Course Science (Athens City)51.342.6
 8.7%
   End of Course Science (Alabama)42.631.7
 10.9%

Student Body

Number of students
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Number of students
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Total Students10421173
 12.6%
African American216180
 16.7%
American Indian98
 11.1%
Asian1631
 93.8%
Hispanic174220
 26.4%
Pacific Islander31
 66.7%
White564653
 15.8%
Two or More Races6080
 33.3%
% Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients46.4%50.9%
 4.5%


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Frequently Asked Questions about Athens High School

Athens High School ranks 42nd of 378 Alabama high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

Students at Athens High School are 53% White, 22% Hispanic, 16% African American, 7% Two or more races, 2% Asian.

In the 2023-24 school year, 1,228 students attended Athens High School.


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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Alabama State Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.





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