There are all sorts of lists of the best schools, covering things such as academics, athletics, quality of teachers and more.

The Niche list of “Standout Schools” is slightly different, however. While the list includes factors such as graduation rates and state test scores, it is limited to only schools where at least 50 percent of students are identified as economically disadvantaged and those that achieve at least a “B” on Niche’s overall grade rankings.

Many of these schools are selective admission magnet schools, meaning students must meet some type of admission standard to enroll and remain enrolled at the school. Magnet schools are often given additional resources to support the advanced academic and arts programming in their schools.

You can see more on how the schools are chosen here.

Here are Alabama’s “Standout Schools”, divided by high school, middle school and elementary levels:

Alabama’s top 15 Standout High Schools

1. Loveless Academic Magnet Program, Montgomery - Magnet
2. New Century Technology High School, Huntsville- Magnet
3. Russellville High School, Russellville
4. W.P. Davidson High School, Mobile
5. Booker T. Washington Magnet High School, Montgomery- Magnet
6. Baker High School, Mobile
7. Ramsay High School, Birmingham- Magnet
8. Decatur High School, Decatur
9. Brewbaker Tech Magnet High School, Montgomery- Magnet
10. Tanner High School, Limestone County
11. Houston County High School, Houston County
12. Fort Payne High School, Fort Payne
13. Albertville High School, Albertville
14. Pike County High School, Pike County
15. Luverne High School, Crenshaw County
 

Alabama’s top 15 Standout Middle Schools

1. Phillips Preparatory Middle School, Mobile County- Magnet
2. Clark-Shaw Magnet School, Mobile County- Magnet
3. Baldwin Art & Academics Magnet, Montgomery- Magnet
4. Floyd Middle School, Montgomery County- Magnet
5. Dunbar Creative Performing Arts, Mobile County- Magnet
6. Causey Middle School, Mobile County
7. Academy for Science & Foreign Language, Huntsville- Magnet
8. Dutton Elementary School, Jackson County
9. Decatur Middle School, Decatur City
10. Academy for Academics and Arts, Huntsville- Magnet
11. Steele Junior High School, St. Clair County
12. Banks School, Pike County
13. Childersburg Middle School, Talladega County
14. C.E. Hanna School, Oxford
15. Russellville Middle School, Russellville
 

Alabama’s top 15 Standout Elementary Schools

1. Forest Avenue Elementary School, Montgomery- Magnet
2. W. H. Council Traditional School, Mobile- Magnet
3. Eichold-Mertz Magnet School of Math Science & Technology- Magnet
4. Old Shell Creative Performing Arts, Mobile- Magnet
5. Bear Exploration Center, Montgomery- Magnet
6. Anna F. Booth Elementary, Mobile
7. Dauphin Island Elementary School, Mobile
8. Macmillan International Academy, Montgomery- Magnet
9. Elsie Collier Elementary School, Mobile
10. Allentown Elementary School, Mobile
11. Coldwater Elementary School, Oxford
12. Weeden Elementary School, Florence
13. Athens Elementary School, Athens
14. Dawes Intermediate School, Mobile
15. Taylor White Elementary School, Mobile

Source: "Here are Alabama’s 2020 ‘Standout Schools’" AL.com (January 13, 2020)  Leada Gore