Vestavia Hills Elementary West

Summary:

Vestavia Hills Elementary West is a highly-rated public elementary school in Vestavia Hills, Alabama, serving 745 students from pre-kindergarten to 5th grade. It is part of the Vestavia Hills City School District, which is ranked 2nd out of 137 districts in Alabama and has a 5-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Vestavia Hills Elementary West consistently ranks among the top elementary schools in Alabama, with students demonstrating exceptional performance on state assessments, significantly outperforming state averages in mathematics, science, and English language arts. The school's student population is more racially diverse than nearby Vestavia Hills Elementary Cahaba Heights and Vestavia Hills Elementary Dolly Ridge, with around 72-73% White students, 12-15% Asian students, and 5-7% African American students. Additionally, the school serves a relatively affluent student population, with only 3.47% to 14.63% of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch over the past three school years.

While Vestavia Hills Elementary West is a standout performer, the nearby Vestavia Hills Elementary Cahaba Heights and Vestavia Hills Elementary Dolly Ridge also demonstrate strong academic performance, with statewide rankings in the top 55 and 21, respectively. This suggests that the Vestavia Hills City School District as a whole is providing a high-quality education to its students.


Detail:

Public PK, KG-5

 1965 Merryvale Rd
       Vestavia Hills, AL  35216-2740


(205) 402-5151

District: Vestavia Hills City

SchoolDigger Rank:
28th of 684 Alabama Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures:  $11,628 Help


Students who attend Vestavia Hills Elementary West usually attend:

Middle:    Pizitz Middle School
High:    Vestavia Hills High School

Student/teacher ratio:  13.8 Help
Number of students:  720

Racial breakdown:

White:
74.4%
Asian:
11.3%
African American:
5.7%
more

Free/discounted lunch recipients:  16.3% Help


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 Compare Vestavia Hills Elementary West to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends
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Compare Details Vestavia Hills Elementary West ranks better than 95.9% of elementary schools in Alabama. It also ranks 3rd among 4 ranked elementary schools in the Vestavia Hills City School District. (See more...)
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Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 94.4. (See more...)
Help
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
Help
Compare Details Racial makeup is: White (74.4%), Asian (11.3%), African American (5.7%). (See more...)
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Compare Details 16.3% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)
Teachers
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Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Vestavia Hills Elementary West is 13.8, which is the lowest among 4 elementary schools in the Vestavia Hills City School District! (See more...)
Help
Compare Vestavia Hills Elementary West employs 52 full-time teachers.
Finance
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Compare Details The average total spent per student at Vestavia Hills Elementary West is $11,628, which is the lowest among 4 elementary schools in the Vestavia Hills City School District!
Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Vestavia Hills Elementary West:

SchoolDigger ranks Vestavia Hills Elementary West 28th of 684 Alabama public elementary schools. (See Vestavia Hills Elementary West in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:


Special Education students:
Low Socio Economic Status students:
Female students:
Male students:
Asian students:
White students:


Vestavia Hills City:

SchoolDigger ranks Vestavia Hills City 2nd of 137 Alabama school districts. (See district ranking list.)


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Your rating for Vestavia Hills Elementary West?

Rank History for Vestavia Hills Elementary West

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Compare

Rank History for all students at Vestavia Hills Elementary West

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools AL State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 98.00 10th 692 98.6%
2022 96.71 18th 687 97.4%
2023 95.23 25th 680 96.3%
2024 94.40 28th 684 95.9%
See the entire list of Alabama Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for Special Education students at Vestavia Hills Elementary West

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools AL State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 91.04 18th 398 95.5%
2022 83.24 32nd 345 90.7%
2023 68.80 68th 373 81.8%
2024 73.47 64th 395 83.8%
See the entire list of Best Alabama Elementary Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Vestavia Hills Elementary West

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools AL State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 85.03 45th 653 93.1%
2024 81.26 77th 670 88.5%
See the entire list of Best Alabama Elementary Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at Vestavia Hills Elementary West

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools AL State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 97.72 7th 656 98.9%
2022 93.41 31st 656 95.3%
2023 94.13 21st 645 96.7%
2024 93.11 24th 650 96.3%
See the entire list of Best Alabama Elementary Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Male students at Vestavia Hills Elementary West

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools AL State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 96.90 16th 669 97.6%
2022 97.14 10th 669 98.5%
2023 94.14 27th 649 95.8%
2024 92.63 33rd 655 95.0%
See the entire list of Best Alabama Elementary Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for Asian students at Vestavia Hills Elementary West

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools AL State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 89.65 1st 16 93.8%
2022 80.89 1st 17 94.1%
2023 71.07 5th 19 73.7%
2024 71.09 3rd 19 84.2%
See the entire list of Best Alabama Elementary Schools for Asian Students!

Rank History for African American students at Vestavia Hills Elementary West

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools AL State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2023 68.67 86th 427 79.9%
See the entire list of Best Alabama Elementary Schools for African American Students!

Rank History for White students at Vestavia Hills Elementary West

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools AL State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 94.34 27th 539 95.0%
2022 93.66 22nd 540 95.9%
2023 91.66 35th 528 93.4%
2024 90.42 33rd 535 93.8%
See the entire list of Best Alabama Elementary 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.

Vestavia Hills Elementary West Test Scores
Tests: 
  
Grades: 
  
Years: 
  
Group by: 
District Scores:
State Scores:    
  
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Data source: Alabama State Department of Education

Review counts

All ratings (Avg rating: 5)
100%

0%

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0%

  

Reviews:
by a parent
Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Open Quote The entire Vestavia Hills City School System is outstanding. The focus is academic and character education. West Elementary is a fantastic school b/c of it's dedicated teachers and the parental involvment is admirable. Mrs. Patton runs the school w/ efficiency and lots of heart. You will love West. Close Quote



Enrollment information for Vestavia Hills Elementary West

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Compare
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 714 714
1989 587 24 21 0 1 n/a n/a 0 633
1990 488 17 13 4 1 n/a n/a 0 523
1991 561 18 9 3 1 n/a n/a 0 592
1992 603 21 14 2 2 n/a n/a 0 642
1993 628 17 18 3 1 n/a n/a 0 667
1994 652 21 23 1 0 n/a n/a 0 697
1995 683 22 24 1 1 n/a n/a 0 731
1996 683 22 24 1 1 n/a n/a 0 731
1997 641 21 33 3 0 n/a n/a 0 698
1998 636 20 31 1 0 n/a n/a 0 688
1999 595 20 33 6 3 n/a n/a 0 657
2000 508 21 29 4 0 n/a n/a 0 562
2001 501 20 28 2 0 n/a n/a 0 551
2002 453 20 30 9 2 n/a n/a 0 514
2003 453 20 30 9 2 n/a n/a 0 514
2004 430 32 45 7 4 n/a n/a 2 520
2005 439 39 55 9 5 n/a n/a 0 547
2006 468 42 59 8 4 n/a n/a 0 581
2007 495 35 62 6 3 n/a n/a 0 601
2008 527 35 58 9 4 n/a n/a 0 633
2009 536 30 69 9 0 n/a n/a 0 644
2010 528 36 65 7 1 n/a n/a 0 637
2011 551 42 69 13 1 0 1 0 677
2012 562 49 75 14 0 0 2 0 702
2013 602 58 69 22 0 0 6 0 757
2014 615 53 69 21 0 0 7 0 765
2015 621 56 85 21 0 0 17 0 800
2016 616 47 91 32 0 0 17 0 803
2017 599 52 85 34 0 0 18 0 788
2018 588 51 92 31 0 0 17 0 779
2019 597 47 96 23 2 0 13 0 778
2020 569 45 114 30 1 1 14 0 774
2021 561 45 118 26 1 1 19 0 771
2022 543 47 107 28 1 1 23 0 750
2023 543 51 93 27 1 1 29 0 745
2024 536 41 81 29 1 0 32 0 720

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 Vestavia Hills Elementary West

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 714 37.0 19.2 0
1989 633 35.0 18.0 n/a
1990 523 32.0 16.3 0
1991 592 37.0 16.0 n/a
1992 642 40.0 16.0 n/a
1993 667 42.0 15.9 n/a
1994 697 42.4 16.4 n/a
1995 731 45.4 16.1 n/a
1996 731 45.4 16.1 n/a
1997 698 44.5 15.7 1.1
1998 688 44.5 15.5 1
1999 657 44.0 14.9 1.8
2000 562 44.0 12.8 1.1
2001 551 43.0 12.8 2.9
2002 514 39.0 13.2 3.9
2003 514 39.0 13.2 3.9
2004 520 40.0 13.0 5.8
2005 547 38.0 14.4 6.6
2006 581 42.0 13.8 6.9
2007 601 42.0 14.3 5.3
2008 633 46.0 13.8 6.5
2009 644 47.5 13.4 5.7
2010 637 48.0 13.2 7.1
2011 677 47.0 14.4 7.5
2012 702 45.0 15.6 10.4
2013 757 61.0 12.4 9.4
2014 765 49.0 15.6 8.9
2015 800 47.0 17.0 11.3
2016 803 46.0 17.4 10.1
2017 788 45.0 17.5 9.3
2018 779 46.0 16.9 9.2
2019 778 46.0 16.9 8.4
2020 774 46.0 16.8 9.6
2021 771 47.0 16.4 9.5
2022 750 45.0 16.6 3.5
2023 745 44.0 16.9 14.6
2024 720 52.0 13.8 16.3

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 Vestavia Hills Elementary West

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 714 37.0 19.2 0
1989 633 35.0 18.0 n/a
1990 523 32.0 16.3 0
1991 592 37.0 16.0 n/a
1992 642 40.0 16.0 n/a
1993 667 42.0 15.9 n/a
1994 697 42.4 16.4 n/a
1995 731 45.4 16.1 n/a
1996 731 45.4 16.1 n/a
1997 698 44.5 15.7 1.1
1998 688 44.5 15.5 1
1999 657 44.0 14.9 1.8
2000 562 44.0 12.8 1.1
2001 551 43.0 12.8 2.9
2002 514 39.0 13.2 3.9
2003 514 39.0 13.2 3.9
2004 520 40.0 13.0 5.8
2005 547 38.0 14.4 6.6
2006 581 42.0 13.8 6.9
2007 601 42.0 14.3 5.3
2008 633 46.0 13.8 6.5
2009 644 47.5 13.4 5.7
2010 637 48.0 13.2 7.1
2011 677 47.0 14.4 7.5
2012 702 45.0 15.6 10.4
2013 757 61.0 12.4 9.4
2014 765 49.0 15.6 8.9
2015 800 47.0 17.0 11.3
2016 803 46.0 17.4 10.1
2017 788 45.0 17.5 9.3
2018 779 46.0 16.9 9.2
2019 778 46.0 16.9 8.4
2020 774 46.0 16.8 9.6
2021 771 47.0 16.4 9.5
2022 750 45.0 16.6 3.5
2023 745 44.0 16.9 14.6
2024 720 52.0 13.8 16.3

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 Vestavia Hills Elementary West

Help

YearExpenditures from Federal FundsExpenditures from State and Local FundsTotal Expenditures Per Pupil (All Funds)
2019 $529 (4.5%) $11,098 (95.4%) $11,628

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

Impact of COVID-19 on Vestavia Hills Elementary West

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.

Test Scores

% proficient
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
% proficient
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
3rd Grade Mathematics (Vestavia Hills Elementary West)8169.3
 11.7%
   3rd Grade Mathematics (Vestavia Hills City)83.577.5
 6.1%
   3rd Grade Mathematics (Alabama)57.543.6
 13.9%

Student Body

Number of students
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Number of students
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Total Students778745
 4.2%
African American4751
 8.5%
American Indian21
 50%
Asian9693
 3.1%
Hispanic2327
 17.4%
Pacific Islander01
White597543
 9%
Two or More Races1329
 123.1%
% Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients8.4%14.6%
 6.3%


Schools Near Vestavia Hills Elementary West









Frequently Asked Questions about Vestavia Hills Elementary West

Students at Vestavia Hills Elementary West are 74% White, 11% Asian, 6% African American, 4% Two or more races, 4% Hispanic.

In the 2023-24 school year, 720 students attended Vestavia Hills Elementary West.

Students who attend Vestavia Hills Elementary West usually go on to attend:

Middle : Pizitz Middle School
High : Vestavia Hills High School

Yes! Vestavia Hills Elementary West is one of the best elementary schools in the state. It ranks 28th of 684 Alabama elementary schools.


Rate Vestavia Hills Elementary West!



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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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