Hillcrest Middle School

Summary:

Hillcrest Middle School is a public middle school in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, serving 576 students in grades 6-8. The school is part of the Tuscaloosa County School District, which is ranked 90 out of 137 districts in the state and has a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Hillcrest Middle School faces significant challenges compared to its surrounding peers. The school has a much higher percentage of African American students (71.01%) than nearby schools, and it consistently underperforms the Tuscaloosa County and Alabama state averages on standardized tests. For example, in the 2023-2024 school year, only 13.87% of 6th graders, 11.86% of 7th graders, and 10.94% of 8th graders were proficient or better in Mathematics, compared to 24.85% and 31.56% for the Tuscaloosa County and Alabama state averages, respectively. Hillcrest Middle School's statewide ranking has also declined over the years, from 122 out of 430 Alabama middle schools in 2014-2015 to 334 out of 442 in 2023-2024.

The school's performance is particularly concerning for certain student subgroups, such as African American students and those from low-income backgrounds. Hillcrest Middle School ranked 150 out of 269 Alabama middle schools for African American students and 365 out of 437 for students of low socioeconomic status, both with a 1-star rating. This suggests that the school may be struggling to address the unique needs of its diverse student population. Nearby schools, such as Sipsey Valley Middle School, Duncanville Middle School, and Northridge Middle School, consistently outperform Hillcrest Middle School on standardized tests and have higher statewide rankings.


Detail:

Public 6-8

 401 Hillcrest School Rd
       Tuscaloosa, AL  35405


(205) 342-2820

District: Tuscaloosa County

SchoolDigger Rank:
334th of 442 Alabama Middle Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures:  $8,185 Help


Feeder schools for Hillcrest Middle School:

Elementary:    Englewood Elementary School
    Taylorville Primary School

Student/teacher ratio:  18.5 Help
Number of students:  576

Racial breakdown:

African American:
71.0%
White:
20.5%
Hispanic:
4.0%
more

Free/discounted lunch recipients:  75% Help


 See top rated Alabama middle schools

 Compare Hillcrest Middle School to nearby middle schools!

Performance Trends
Help
Compare Details Hillcrest Middle School ranks worse than 75.6% of middle schools in Alabama. It also ranks 5th among 7 ranked middle schools in the Tuscaloosa County School District. (See more...)
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Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 26.44. (See more...)
Student Body
Help
Compare Details Racial makeup is: African American (71%), White (20.5%), Hispanic (4%). (See more...)
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Compare Details 75% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)
Teachers
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Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Hillcrest Middle School is 18.5, which is the 2nd best among 7 middle schools in the Tuscaloosa County School District. (See more...)
Help
Compare Hillcrest Middle School employs 31 full-time teachers.
Finance
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Compare Details The average total spent per student at Hillcrest Middle School is $8,185. 4 middle schools in the Tuscaloosa County School District spend more per student.
Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Hillcrest Middle School:

SchoolDigger ranks Hillcrest Middle School 334th of 442 Alabama public middle schools. (See Hillcrest Middle School in the ranking list.)

Middle School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:


Special Education students:
Low Socio Economic Status students:
Female students:
Male students:
African American students:
White students:


Tuscaloosa County:

SchoolDigger ranks Tuscaloosa County 90th of 137 Alabama school districts. (See district ranking list.)


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Rank History for Hillcrest Middle School

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Compare

Rank History for all students at Hillcrest Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AL State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2004 47.40 209th 407 48.6%
2005 47.10 228th 415 45.1%
2006 60.18 146th 409 64.3%
2007 62.11 152nd 412 63.1%
2008 48.87 226th 417 45.8%
2009 67.79 112th 425 73.6%
2010 64.11 150th 435 65.5%
2011 63.04 165th 435 62.1%
2012 62.54 160th 436 63.3%
2013 55.33 222nd 436 49.1%
2014 56.73 171st 438 61.0%
2015 63.51 122nd 430 71.6%
2016 60.03 150th 432 65.3%
2017 57.09 166th 432 61.6%
2018 41.81 258th 423 39.0%
2019 46.72 245th 437 43.9%
2021 57.99 156th 440 64.5%
2022 39.64 263rd 432 39.1%
2023 32.09 307th 437 29.7%
2024 26.44 334th 442 24.4%
See the entire list of Alabama Middle School Rankings!

Rank History for Special Education students at Hillcrest Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AL State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2017 45.91 94th 195 51.8%
2018 67.66 40th 223 82.1%
2019 48.19 115th 254 54.7%
2021 35.80 186th 274 32.1%
2022 61.03 57th 256 77.7%
2023 71.58 38th 281 86.5%
2024 68.55 42nd 281 85.1%
See the entire list of Best Alabama Middle Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Hillcrest Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AL State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2017 36.68 233rd 349 33.2%
2018 33.40 281st 396 29.0%
2019 29.32 300th 396 24.2%
2021 52.97 182nd 415 56.1%
2022 36.63 275th 421 34.7%
2023 33.44 285th 410 30.5%
2024 20.14 365th 437 16.5%
See the entire list of Best Alabama Middle Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at Hillcrest Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AL State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2017 61.47 119th 380 68.7%
2018 48.10 209th 392 46.7%
2019 47.51 229th 399 42.6%
2021 60.36 142nd 415 65.8%
2022 42.84 242nd 423 42.8%
2023 32.56 292nd 417 30.0%
2024 25.60 325th 426 23.7%
See the entire list of Best Alabama Middle Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Male students at Hillcrest Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AL State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2017 48.05 195th 380 48.7%
2018 35.13 276th 397 30.5%
2019 44.87 226th 399 43.4%
2021 53.80 170th 418 59.3%
2022 35.46 280th 427 34.4%
2023 31.34 304th 419 27.4%
2024 28.35 313th 428 26.9%
See the entire list of Best Alabama Middle Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for African American students at Hillcrest Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AL State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2017 47.75 85th 205 58.5%
2018 43.83 121st 247 51.0%
2019 51.19 100th 252 60.3%
2021 63.22 67th 266 74.8%
2022 46.75 110th 271 59.4%
2023 39.29 143rd 263 45.6%
2024 37.96 150th 269 44.2%
See the entire list of Best Alabama Middle Schools for African American Students!

Rank History for White students at Hillcrest Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AL State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2017 81.39 30th 247 87.9%
2018 64.03 81st 331 75.5%
2019 71.85 67th 343 80.5%
2021 79.07 51st 369 86.2%
2022 64.15 102nd 376 72.9%
2023 65.08 93rd 370 74.9%
2024 58.45 122nd 373 67.3%
See the entire list of Best Alabama Middle 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.

Hillcrest Middle School Test Scores
Tests: 
  
Grades: 
  
Years: 
  
Group by: 
District Scores:
State Scores:    
  
Subgroup: 





Data source: Alabama State Department of Education

Review counts

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100%

  

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Enrollment information for Hillcrest Middle 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 1067 1067
1989 699 344 3 2 0 n/a n/a 0 1048
1990 719 351 1 3 0 n/a n/a 0 1074
1991 797 324 1 0 1 n/a n/a 0 1123
1992 837 317 1 2 1 n/a n/a 0 1158
1993 504 213 2 1 0 n/a n/a 0 720
1994 546 194 4 1 1 n/a n/a 0 746
1995 581 207 2 1 1 n/a n/a 0 792
1996 581 207 2 1 1 n/a n/a 0 792
1997 648 199 1 1 0 n/a n/a 0 849
1998 650 213 1 2 0 n/a n/a 0 866
1999 647 219 2 3 2 n/a n/a 2 875
2000 631 243 7 1 2 n/a n/a 1 885
2001 632 266 6 3 3 n/a n/a 1 911
2002 654 270 6 6 0 n/a n/a 0 936
2003 654 270 6 6 0 n/a n/a 0 936
2004 664 310 8 5 1 n/a n/a 3 991
2005 621 325 8 6 0 n/a n/a 0 960
2006 628 308 8 6 0 n/a n/a 5 955
2007 612 302 6 9 1 n/a n/a 3 933
2008 582 341 5 9 0 n/a n/a 0 937
2009 422 287 7 9 2 n/a n/a 0 727
2010 415 301 6 6 3 n/a n/a 9 740
2011 439 327 7 3 4 0 7 0 787
2012 303 281 10 0 3 0 8 0 605
2013 303 281 12 4 0 1 5 0 606
2014 284 293 15 7 0 0 6 0 605
2015 269 272 17 5 0 0 10 0 573
2016 242 317 18 4 1 0 8 0 590
2017 211 302 14 15 0 1 7 0 550
2018 175 328 16 16 0 2 3 0 540
2019 169 317 18 13 0 1 1 0 519
2020 158 372 16 10 0 0 4 0 560
2021 158 402 19 11 0 0 8 0 598
2022 130 419 13 15 0 0 7 0 584
2023 118 409 9 23 1 0 16 0 576

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 Hillcrest Middle School

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Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 1067 54.0 19.7 0
1989 1048 56.0 18.7 n/a
1990 1074 57.0 18.8 0
1991 1123 62.0 18.1 n/a
1992 1158 24.0 48.2 n/a
1993 720 36.0 20.0 n/a
1994 746 43.0 17.3 n/a
1995 792 43.4 18.2 n/a
1996 792 43.4 18.2 n/a
1997 849 43.8 19.4 23.7
1998 866 44.1 19.6 22.6
1999 875 46.0 19.0 29
2000 885 52.0 17.0 28.6
2001 911 50.0 18.2 36.2
2002 936 44.0 21.3 36.9
2003 936 44.0 21.3 36.9
2004 991 44.4 22.3 40.2
2005 960 45.0 21.3 43.8
2006 955 49.0 19.4 43.6
2007 933 46.0 20.3 37.8
2008 937 48.7 19.2 37.5
2009 727 34.6 20.8 30.9
2010 740 46.1 16.0 39.9
2011 787 50.1 15.6 40
2012 605 43.0 14.0 44.8
2013 606 42.5 14.2 45.5
2014 605 28.3 21.3 51.1
2015 573 28.0 20.4 49.6
2016 590 32.0 18.4 45.8
2017 550 30.0 18.3 47.1
2018 540 28.0 19.2 56.5
2019 519 27.5 18.8 47.6
2020 560 27.5 20.3 58.6
2021 598 29.5 20.2 59.2
2022 584 27.0 21.6 46.9
2023 576 31.0 18.5 75

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 Hillcrest Middle School

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 1067 54.0 19.7 0
1989 1048 56.0 18.7 n/a
1990 1074 57.0 18.8 0
1991 1123 62.0 18.1 n/a
1992 1158 24.0 48.2 n/a
1993 720 36.0 20.0 n/a
1994 746 43.0 17.3 n/a
1995 792 43.4 18.2 n/a
1996 792 43.4 18.2 n/a
1997 849 43.8 19.4 23.7
1998 866 44.1 19.6 22.6
1999 875 46.0 19.0 29
2000 885 52.0 17.0 28.6
2001 911 50.0 18.2 36.2
2002 936 44.0 21.3 36.9
2003 936 44.0 21.3 36.9
2004 991 44.4 22.3 40.2
2005 960 45.0 21.3 43.8
2006 955 49.0 19.4 43.6
2007 933 46.0 20.3 37.8
2008 937 48.7 19.2 37.5
2009 727 34.6 20.8 30.9
2010 740 46.1 16.0 39.9
2011 787 50.1 15.6 40
2012 605 43.0 14.0 44.8
2013 606 42.5 14.2 45.5
2014 605 28.3 21.3 51.1
2015 573 28.0 20.4 49.6
2016 590 32.0 18.4 45.8
2017 550 30.0 18.3 47.1
2018 540 28.0 19.2 56.5
2019 519 27.5 18.8 47.6
2020 560 27.5 20.3 58.6
2021 598 29.5 20.2 59.2
2022 584 27.0 21.6 46.9
2023 576 31.0 18.5 75

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 Hillcrest Middle School

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YearExpenditures from Federal FundsExpenditures from State and Local FundsTotal Expenditures Per Pupil (All Funds)
2019 $843 (10.3%) $7,319 (89.4%) $8,185

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

Impact of COVID-19 on Hillcrest Middle 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 245th of 437 Middle schoolsRanks 307th of 437 Middle schools
 14.2%

Test Scores

% proficient
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
% proficient
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
6th Grade Mathematics (Hillcrest Middle School)38.712
 26.7%
   6th Grade Mathematics (Tuscaloosa County)39.322.9
 16.5%
   6th Grade Mathematics (Alabama)45.330.8
 14.5%
7th Grade Mathematics (Hillcrest Middle School)32.313.1
 19.2%
   7th Grade Mathematics (Tuscaloosa County)41.715.4
 26.3%
   7th Grade Mathematics (Alabama)43.121
 22.1%
8th Grade Mathematics (Hillcrest Middle School)36.711.7
 25%
   8th Grade Mathematics (Tuscaloosa County)4312.9
 30.1%
   8th Grade Mathematics (Alabama)44.721.1
 23.6%

Student Body

Number of students
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Number of students
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Total Students519576
 11%
African American317409
 29%
American Indian01
Asian189
 50%
Hispanic1323
 76.9%
Pacific Islander10
 100%
White169118
 30.2%
Two or More Races116
 1500%
% Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients47.6%75%
 27.4%


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Frequently Asked Questions about Hillcrest Middle School

Students at Hillcrest Middle School are 71% African American, 20% White, 4% Hispanic, 3% Two or more races, 2% Asian.

Hillcrest Middle School ranks in the bottom 24.4% of Alabama middle schools.

In the 2022-23 school year, 576 students attended Hillcrest Middle 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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