Reasons to Choose the Shelby County, Alabama School System

Reasonably, when parents contemplate moving to Birmingham, one of the first things they consider is the quality of the area schools. Before deciding where to live in or near Birmingham, it is helpful to compare options for both public and private schools. In the Birmingham vicinity there are several public school options, including Birmingham schools, in the Jefferson County school system, and schools in the surrounding counties, including Shelby, St Clair and Walker County schools.

Mt Laurel is located within Shelby County, and all Mt Laurel homes are zoned for Shelby County schools. When compared to surrounding area schools, the Shelby County School System out-performs other county public schools in key areas.

Below, the Shelby County school system is compared with the others based on key performance indicators. These include student-to-teacher ratio, computers with Internet access, discipline problems, Adequate Yearly Progress, high school graduation exam passing rates, and average ACT scores.

The student-to-teacher ratio refers to class size. Research suggests smaller class sizes are more conducive to learning. In addition, smaller class sizes can indicate a better-funded, better-performing school system. For this criterion, Shelby County schools came out on top, with a low 14.24 students for every teacher. Next up is Walker County schools, with 14.54 students per teacher. Jefferson County schools came in third place, with a student-to-teacher ratio of 15.03-to-1. Last place goes to St Clair County schools, with a ratio of 16.03-to-1.

At a Glance: Student-to-Teacher Ratio

The number of computers with Internet access per student can be a great indicator of how up to date a school is. It's absolutely vital that students learn how to use computers and the Internet. But it's hard to learn if you don't have the equipment. Shelby County schools come in at number 1 for Internet access. Next up is the Walker County School System. Then comes St Clair, and Jefferson County schools come in last.

A child's safety at school isn't something that parents want to have to think about. Unfortunately, it's something parents need to take into consideration. Luckily, schools have to report any incident that involves assault, a bomb threat, drugs or weapons. The safest school system among the bunch is the Shelby County School System. Shelby County schools had a total of 90 incidents. They had 21 incidents of assault, 1 bomb threat, 33 drug-related cases and 35 weapons-related cases. Divide those 90 instances among Shelby County's 25,866 students, and you get 1 incident per 287.4 students. Next up is St Clair County. Its schools had 14 incidents of assault, no bomb threats, 12 drug-related incidents and 6 weapons-related incidents. Divide that among their 8,189.4 students and they had an incident for every 255.91 students. Jefferson County schools came in third, with 56 incidents of assault, 3 bomb threats, 62 drug-related incidents, and 71 weapons-related incidents. Divide those 201 incidents among their 36,406.1 students, and you get 1 incident per 181.12 students. In last place is Walker County, with 18 incidents of assault, 1 bomb threat, 22 drug-related incidents and 11 weapons-related incidents. Divide those 52 incidents among their 8,296.1 students, and you get 1 incident per 159.54 students.

At a Glance: Students-per-Incident Ratio

The No Child Left Behind Act established Adequate Yearly Progress to determine how schools are performing using standardized tests. Both St Clair County schools and Walker County schools made Adequate Yearly Progress Status for everything but high school reading. Shelby County schools and Jefferson County schools made Adequate Yearly Progress Status for everything but high school reading and math.

At a Glance: Adequate Yearly Progress

Every high school student in Alabama has to take and pass the Alabama High School Graduation Exam in order to graduate. Many students must take the test multiple times. The percentage of students who can pass it by 11th grade is a good indicator of a school's academic quality. Here, Walker County schools lead the pack, with 73.2 percent of 11th-graders passing the Alabama High School Graduation Exam. Next up are Jefferson County schools, with 71.7 percent of 11th-graders passing. Then comes the St Clair County School System, with 71.2 percent of 11th-graders passing. Last are Shelby County schools, with 68.8 percent of 11th-graders passing the Alabama High School Graduation Exam.

At a Glance: Alabama High School Exit Exam

Most colleges take a prospective student's ACT score into account when determining admission, scholarships and advanced placement. The highest average ACT score was Shelby County schools' 22.2. Next was the 20.2 earned by St Clair County. Third place went to Walker County, with a 19.9. Jefferson County came in last place, with 17.3.

At a Glance: Average ACT Score

Looking at each school system's placement for each indicator, you can see that the Shelby County School System came out ahead of the other schools most of the time. St Clair and Walker County schools are tied for second place, and Jefferson County schools generally come in last.

Learn more about Mt Laurel public and private schools.

All information comes from the Alabama Department of Education Report Cards for the 2006-2007 school year, the last year for which information was available at the time of retrieval.