Alabama public schools show improvement on state report card

Alabama’s public, K-12 schools saw slight improvement on the state’s report card released Thursday afternoon.

The Alabama Department of Education, which determines policies for public schools in the state, received an 88 on the 2025-26 state report card. That is up one point from the 2024-25 school year report card.

“We’re real proud,” said Alabama State School Superintendent Eric Mackey after the meeting. “This would be the highest score on the state report card we’ve ever had. And one of the things I’m most proud of is where the points went up, is in academic achievement.”

The report card measures academic achievement, academic growth, graduation rate, progress in English learner proficiency, chronic absenteeism and college and career readiness. 

According to the state report card, the state saw an increase in academic achievement going from 67 in the 2024-25 school year to 69.20 in the 2025-26 school year.

“It’s much harder to move achievement because to move achievement, students have to actually move from level one, level two, two to three, three to four,” Mackey told board members. “So this is a significant change as students are moving from band to band to make that number change.”

English language proficiency also increased – receiving 49.92 in the 2025-26 academic year – up from 45.65 in the 2024-25 school year.

Other improvement areas include chronic absenteeism, graduation rate and college career readiness.

The graduation rate went from 91.56 in the 2024-25 school year to 92.77 in the 2025-26 school year. College career readiness also increased, receiving a score of 90.70 in the 2025-26 school year, up from 87.88 in the 2024-25 academic year.

Chronic absenteeism decreased over the past two school years going from 12.05 in the 2024-25 year to 10.54 in the 2025-26 year.

Schools under statewide intervention also improved on the state report card.

Bessemer City Schools, which was placed under state intervention due to the board’s dysfunction, went from an overall score of 75 in the 2024-25 year to 77 in the 2025-26 year.

A message seeking comment was left with Bessemer City Schools Thursday afternoon.

Dallas County also saw an increase going from 77 in the 2024-25 school year to 79 in the 2025-26 year. Dallas County was placed under state intervention due to financial and board governance concerns.

Dallas County Schools Superintendent Corey Jones said in a statement Thursday that the increase “a step in the right direction for (the) Dallas County School System.”

“Although we recognize that there is still work to be done, we are encouraged by the progress reflected in this year’s accountability results,” Jones said in the statement. “This improvement represents the dedication of our educators, the hard work of our students, and the continued support of our families and community. We are not satisfied with simply maintaining a letter grade. Our goal is to continue moving forward, strengthening instruction, increasing student achievement, and ensuring that every child has access to opportunities that prepare them for success.”

Sumter County Schools, which was placed under intervention due to a population decline in the area among other reasons including board governance and academics, received a 70 for both the 2024-25 and 2025-26 academic years.

Sumter County Schools recognized the report card score in a statement Thursday.

“While we recognize this achievement, we also understand that there is more work to be done. We remain committed to strengthening classroom instruction, improving student achievement, and providing opportunities for every student to succeed,” the statement said.