Decatur High School serves 1,036 learners in grade levels 9-12.

Decatur High School landed in the lower 50% of all schools in Alabama for cumulative test scores (math proficiency (mastery) is lower 50%, and reading proficiency (mastery) is lower 50%) for the 2020-21 school year.

The percentage of learners achieving proficiency (mastery) in math is 36% (which is lower than the Alabama state average of 47%) for the 2020-21 school year. The percentage of learners achieving proficiency (mastery) in reading/language arts is 39% (which is lower than the Alabama state average of 46%) for the 2020-21 school year.

The learner:teacher ratio of 16:1 is lower than the Alabama state level of 18:1.

Minority enrollment is 57% of the learner body (majority Black), which is higher than the Alabama state average of 45% (majority Black).

School Overview: Decatur High School’s learner population of 1,036 learners has grown by 5% over five school years.

The teacher population of 65 teachers has stayed flat over five school years.

School Comparison: Decatur High School is ranked within the lower 50% of all 1,270 schools in Alabama (based off of combined math and reading proficiency (mastery) testing data) for the 2020-21 school year.

The equity score of Decatur High School is 0.68, which is more than the equity score at state average of 0.59. The school’s equity has stayed flat over five school years.

School Notes

Decatur High School, situated in Decatur, Alabama under the Decatur City Schools, across Prospect Dr. from Delano Park, is ranked as one of the upper academic schools in the state, as well as the nation, with strong Advanced Placement programs and high ACT & SAT test scores that exceed both State and National averages.

Decatur High, along with western Decatur’s Austin High School, are the only International Baccalaureate schools north of Birmingham, Alabama.

Athletics:

Decatur High is well represented each year in the State Playoffs, and has won many state championships in Basketball, Football, Golf, and Cross Country. Decatur’s athletic teams consistently compete with those of schools two, three, and four times its own size, each year ranking among the upper teams in the state. Decatur High’s football, and soccer programs play at the 8,000 seat Ogle Stadium on the southern end of the campus.

Decatur’s football program continues to dominate Northern Alabama’s upper football teams, each year defeating even the hugest high school in the state, Bob Jones High School.

Decatur has defeated cross-town rival Austin High School, a school twice the size of DHS, many times, with the leading number of wins in the rivalry.

Due to the AHSAA Class Re-Alignments, Decatur has been moved to class 5A. The drop in class is not due to a shrinking learner population, or due to a drop in athletic ability like a huge portion of people believe; in reality Decatur High is continuing to grow in learner population, and because of the new rules of the AHSAA Class Alignments, the Decatur High Developmental Program was not counted as part of the regular learner population.

Fine arts:

The Decatur High School’s Chorus and Concert Bands have consistently received superior ratings in both District and State competitions.

Decatur High has the longest string of District Competition Superior Ratings in Alabama, dating back to the competition’s formation in 1947.

Decatur High also continues to lead in number of Alabama Bandmasters State Competition Superior Ratings at 57, more than any other high school in state history.

The graduating class of 2006 was awarded more than 5 million dollars in scholarships out of the 8 million dollars offered to learners in the Decatur City Schools.

99% of the school’s seniors passed the Alabama High School Graduation Exam in 2005.

Decatur high has a graduation rate of 98%.

Nearby Public Schools: The closest high school to Decatur High School is Decatur High Developmental (0.2 miles away)

The closest middle school is Oak Park Middle School (0.7 miles away)

The closest elementary school is Somerville Road Elementary School (0.2 miles away)