State’s reading scores ‘unchanged statistically’
The Alabama Department of Education got a mixed bag of news recently when the annual reading and math reports came in.
First, the state’s third grade reading scores were essentially unchanged this spring with 88.3% of students meeting the state’s promotion benchmark on the ACAP reading test, according to preliminary data.
This year, 47,956 of about 54,300 third graders scored at or above the state’s third grade reading benchmark, or cut score, of 444.
That leaves about 6,350 third graders (11.6%) who did not meet the cut score. They will receive additional reading help before final promotion decisions are made.
Last spring, 88.4% of third graders met the same cut score, while just under 6,500 students fell short.
While State Superintendent Eric Mackey noted the scores “essentially unchanged statistically,” he expressed concerns about what he called a “U-shaped recovery” in student achievement.
According to Mackey, state educators are seeing growth in two areas: the lowest-performing students who are receiving intervention services, and the highest-performing students. But the middleperforming students appear to be plateauing.
“Where we’re seeing the least growth is in the middle,” Mackey told board members.
The state’s reading benchmark will become more difficult for students next year as Alabama continues phasing in stricter literacy standards under the Alabama Literacy Act. Officials warned last month that current scores may decline once the higher benchmark takes effect.
The number of students retained specifically because of the Literacy Act has been much smaller than the number who initially fell below the spring benchmark.
At the end of the 202425 school year, 3,454 third graders were promoted through good-cause exemptions, while 836 were retained, according to required legislative reports on the Alabama Reading Initiative.
At the end of the 202324 school year, about 4,800 third graders had initially fallen short of the benchmark. That year, the cut score was 435, lower than the current score. By the end of the school year, 2,052 third graders were promoted through goodcause exemptions and 452 were retained under the act.
Those two years of reports show that many students who fall short of the spring benchmark are later promoted through retesting, portfolio review or good-cause exemptions before final retention decisions are made.
Mackey’s comments came as state leaders reviewed a newly released National Education Recovery Scorecard from researchers at Stanford, Harvard and Dartmouth. The scorecard compares state and district reading and math results for students in grades 3 through 8.
What those researchers found was sobering: Only five states plus the District of Columbia had meaningful growth in reading test scores from 2022 to 2025. Nationally, students remain nearly half a grade level behind pre-pandemic reading scores and only slightly better in math.
Alabama ranked 10th nationally in math growth and 13th nationally in reading growth since 2022.
The scorecard analysis found that Alabama students have continued to make gains in math after the pandemic, but reading recovery remains weaker and progress remains uneven across districts.
Using the scorecard’s measures, Alabama ranked 10th among 38 states in math growth, and 13th among 35 states in reading growth between 2022 and 2025.
Researchers said Alabama and Louisiana were the only two states performing above 2019 levels in math.
Franklin County was among the counties highlighted for its math results.
