Latest news with #AlabamaStateBoardofEducation
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Alabama third grade reading scores show growth
Tracie West, the Alabama State Board of Education District 2 representative, looks at a bar graph as State Superintendent Eric Mackey presents the 2024 Alabama Comprehensive Assessment of Progress reading scores at the board's June work session in the Gordon Persons Building in Montgomery, Alabama on June 12, 2025. The scores revealed that Alabama's third graders have improved since the 2023-2024 school year. (Anna Barrett/Alabama Reflector) Alabama third grade students appeared to improve on a test of reading comprehension last year despite a slight increase in testing standards, according to numbers released by the Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE) on Thursday. According to the department, a smaller percentage of students who took the Alabama Comprehensive Assessment of Progress (ACAP) fell below the score considered 'sufficient' for grade-level reading. The ALSDE said 13.7% of third graders fell below the mark, known as the cut-off score, in the 2024-25 school year. That was an improvement over the 2023-24 year, when 20.8% of third graders tested fell below the cut score. The state increased the cut score from 435 to 444 in October. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX According to a Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama (PARCA) report, a student can score between 270 and 740 on the exam. 473 is the grade level score, but the lowered cut score allows for more statistical confidence that the correct students will be retained. According to the data, 6,470 third-graders scored below 444 out of the 55,930 that were tested (11.57%). 'If we take the current cut score and then apply it to last year's data and the data before, you see that we would have seen growth,' Alabama State Schools Superintendent Eric Mackey said during a meeting of the Alabama State Board of Education on Thursday. 'So that tells me that not only do we have 11.6% below grade level, but we are seeing growth across the board.' The 2019 Alabama Literacy Act requires students reading on grade level by the end of third grade. Students who fall short on the test and don't meet an alternative requirement can be held back. The cut score will increase to 454 for the 2026-27 school year. The data also showed that 44 schools around the state had no students score below the 444 cut off on the test. Mackey said only two school systems had no students score below a 444. 'So we're excited to see that,' he said. 'A lot of them tested around the mid 90s, but we do have some districts that are around 70% still, and so we're working on that.' One of those systems was Orange Beach City Schools in Baldwin County. Randy Wilkes, the superintendent of the system, said in a statement the score reflects the dedication of the system's teachers and leadership. This is the second year in a row the system had 100% of students scoring above the cut off, even with the increased cut score. 'It's a signal that every child in our district is being prepared for long-term academic success,' Wilkes said. 'We believe that strong readers become strong learners. Our goal is not only to meet the standard but to set it.' Satsuma City Schools in Mobile County was the other system to record all students reading at a sufficient level or higher. A message seeking comment from Superintendent Dana Price was left Thursday afternoon. Although the number of students scoring above 'sufficient' reading improved, Mackey said that the students between the cut score and grade-level scores are not necessarily proficient in reading. 'They're reading on grade level statistically, but they are so close that they could easily slip below grade level the next year. So we want parents to know that,' Mackey said. 'We don't want them to think that because their students were promoted to the fourth grade, that they're in the clear.' Montgomery County's Chisholm Elementary School had the highest percentage of third grade students scoring below a 444 at 47.25%. The school reported testing 91 students, so 43 of those scored below the cut score. Huntsville City's McDonnell Elementary School is the second lowest, with only 75 students tested, at 41.33% of students scoring below a 444. Bessemer City's Charles F Hard Elementary School tested 55 students with 22 scoring below a 444, the third lowest percentage. Bessemer City Schools has been under state intervention for almost a year.
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Alabama lawmakers could vote on posting Ten Commandments in schools
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WIAT) — State Sen. Keith Kelley (R-Anniston) said the U.S. was founded upon the Ten Commandments given in the Old Testament, and he wants to make sure that history is told. There are some people, however, who largely disagree. Kelley's bill would require the Ten Commandments to be put in common areas — like hallways or entrances — of schools. Kelley said they used to be taught not too long ago in schools. 'You talk to a lot of people, they don't really have the true foundation of what our country was founded on,' Kelley said. 'There's a certain amount of accountability and responsibility that each one of us has, and I think it goes to that accountability.' Kelley said schools wouldn't have to pay for it, as some groups have volunteered to pay for it. He said the Alabama State Board of Education would be required to make the materials available. A similar law laying that foundation was signed in Louisiana and blocked by a federal judge. Alabama House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels (D-Huntsville) said it's a waste of taxpayer dollars. 'That bothers me,' Daniels said. 'We're focusing on things that are going to take away and litigation that we're clearly going to lose and cost the state of Alabama hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not millions of dollars.' Immigration judge requests information from US, attorneys before ruling on bond for Alabama student Alireza Doroudi The Rev. Julie Conrady, president of the Interfaith Alliance of Central Alabama, said that's not the only cost. Conrady said it violates religious freedom. 'If we're talking about our Jewish friends, they would say posting them in English is not even appropriate,' Conrady said. 'When we talk about when we get to translating that text into English is when you start making actual theological claims.' But Kelley said it's not about theological claims, it's about honoring the history of the law and the U.S. 'Well, this is just saying 'don't steal something' and 'don't kill somebody,'' Kelley said. 'You respect other people's rights. You respect differing opinions. You respect different processes.' A House and a Senate version has passed out of committee in both chambers. Counting Tuesday, there are nine legislative days left in the session for lawmakers to vote on this bill. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
