BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Alabama’s 11th-grade ACT proficiency rates reversed several years of decline this spring, reaching their highest levels in recent years.
Statewide, the percentage of students scoring proficient in English rose from 30.3% to 33.8%, math increased from 23.9% to 27.5%, and science climbed from 31.9% to 36.0%.
State Superintendent Eric Mackey noted the turnaround during a recent State Board of Education work session, saying ACT results had been floundering in recent years and that he was glad to see the numbers begin moving upward.
At some individual high schools, the gains were much larger.
At Northside High School in Tuscaloosa County, the improvement is part of a pattern that has been building for several years. English language arts proficiency rose from about 24% to 31% to 47% over the past three years. Math climbed from 16% to 28% to 44%, while science rose from 28% to 41% to 59%.
Principal Jeremy Madden said there is no single program behind the improvement, but the effort is intentional.
“It’s not one thing,” Madden said. “It’s a lot of things.”
Note: Since Dr. Madden spoke with Alabama Daily News late last week, his family home was destroyed by fire Friday night. His family was not home, and their dog was found safe, but his house is a total loss. Madden said that he wanted this story to be published as planned. Read local television coverage of the fire here.
Madden, who is in his third year as principal at Northside, described an effort that reaches from the master schedule to classroom instruction to the way students think about the ACT.
The school reduced class sizes in key English and math courses, increased the rigor of coursework, expanded Advanced Placement offerings and invested in additional teacher training.
Northside began working with A+ College Ready even before receiving a three-year grant through the program. Madden said the school added AP Precalculus and other advanced courses and increased the number of qualifying AP exam scores from 53 to 183 in one year.
But increasing rigor also meant recognizing where students had gaps.
Northside partnered with consultants to provide additional instructional support in Algebra II classes, sometimes returning to fundamental math skills students had not practiced since middle school or even elementary school.
Madden compared the approach to the way a football coach starts with footwork and basic technique before running complicated plays.
“If they can’t do those things, they’re not going to be able to run really, really technical plays,” he said.
ACT preparation also is built into the school day, Madden said.
During a 25-minute daily advisory period, juniors practice testing on retired ACT sections so teachers can identify individual weaknesses and group students for targeted instruction. Madden said students may spend about seven weeks focused on grammar, followed by similar stretches in math and reading, before being tested again.
The school also encourages juniors to take the ACT before the statewide administration and helps eligible students use free testing vouchers.
Madden said the school has worked to get students more invested in their own results. Students meet individually with school staff to review their PreACT scores – the test students take in the tenth grade – and set goals. Northside also created an ACT Club recognizing students who reach certain score levels, with photos displayed at school, T-shirts and social media recognition.
Students can earn other incentives for improving their scores, including parking privileges, admission to athletic events and invitations to a cookout.
Madden said those incentives give students “some skin in the game” and a reason to do more than simply show up and rush through the exam.
Northside also plans a celebration recognizing students for ACT growth.
Put together, Madden said, the strategy is bigger than any individual piece.
“It’s like it’s a collage,” he said. “It’s not one single picture.”
Northside was far from alone.
Eleventh graders posted double-digit percentage-point gains in both ELA and math at 30 Alabama high schools this year.
The full table of ELA and math proficiency rates, along with each school’s percentage-point change from last year, is below. Click here if you are unable to see the table.
A different ACT in 2026
Alabama’s gains also came in a year when the ACT itself changed.
This past spring was Alabama’s first statewide school-day administration of the redesigned Enhanced ACT. The new version contains fewer questions and gives students more time per question.
ACT told Alabama Daily News that scores from the Enhanced ACT can be used interchangeably with scores from the previous, or “legacy,” version. The organization pointed to a linking study in which students were randomly assigned to take either the legacy or redesigned test.
A separate scoring issue affected some Alabama students who took the ACT online during the spring state testing window. ACT recalculated those scores, which either stayed the same or increased.
ACT said the rescoring ensured results were fair and accurate regardless of when or how students tested and said the correction was not responsible for the year-over-year increase.
Asked whether other states had experienced gains similar to Alabama’s, ACT said its analysis of spring results across states was consistent with patterns it would expect based on historical performance.
All Alabama public school juniors take the ACT as part of the state’s accountability system, and the results are included in state and federal report cards. ACT does not determine which scores Alabama considers proficient. The Alabama State Department of Education sets those cut scores, which did not change from 2025 to 2026.
A small share of high school students – less than 1.5% – took an alternate assessment designed for students with significant cognitive disabilities. Those results are included in the overall high school proficiency figures published on the department’s website showing for the full Alabama Comprehensive Assessment Program.
Proficiency rates on the alternate assessment were lower than the overall rates – about 25.6% in ELA and 6.7% in math – so their inclusion would likely lower the combined proficiency percentages slightly.