MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Alabama schools improved their overall grade to 87 points out of 100 available on both state and federal report cards for the 2024-25 school year, according to preliminary data presented to state board of education members Thursday.
That’s slightly above last year’s 85. State Superintendent Eric Mackey told reporters the incremental progress reflects the commitment of educators to the plans that have been laid in place in recent years.
“It shows that you have to have a plan,” Mackey said. “You have to stay focused on that plan. You have to invest in that plan. And that’s what we’ve been doing now for a number of years, and we’re finally seeing pay off.”
Alabama Department of Education Accountability Director Marcus Vandiver presented the breakdown of points earned in each of six categories on the state and federal report cards. The overall news was good – each of the measures, with one exception, improved from the previous year.
The exception is in the academic growth category, which dropped by 5/100ths of a point – from 97.13 to 97.08.
The chart below compares measures for the current year as well as previous years’ state report cards. (State report cards were not issued in 2020 or 2021.)
Click here if you are unable to see the chart below.
District-level scores
Statewide gains tell one story, but the district-level numbers show where improvements were strongest – and where challenges remain.
District-level scores show broad improvement this year: 102 of the state’s 153 graded districts posted gains, increasing anywhere from one to 10 points.
Another 28 districts held steady, receiving the same score they earned last year. Eighteen districts declined, with drops ranging from one to eight points.
The table below shows each district’s overall grade for 2025, alongside their point scores from 2023 and 2024. Taken together, the three years offer a clearer view of how districts are trending over time.
The table is easiest to view on a larger screen. Columns can be sorted in ascending or descending order by clicking the column header. Click here if you are unable to see the table.
How scores are calculated
Understanding how points are earned is key, because not every measure on the report card works the same way.
Letter grades are designed to make school performance transparent for families and communities. However, some of the measures can be confusing due to the way the scores are calculated.
Report card scores contain a mix of weighted point values and percentages. When reading a school’s report card, it’s important to understand which one the score reflects.
- There are two separate report cards – the state and the federal report card. The Alabama Department of Education posts state and federal report cards on its website.
- Only the state report card assigns a letter grade of A through F; the federal report card assigns a numerical score.
- Academic achievement and academic growth are weighted scores – not percentages – that reflect the level of achievement or growth – four levels for each measure – that students in the school or district reach.
- College and career readiness and graduation rate scores reflect the percentages of students that completed that measure. The rates lag by one school year and so are based on the class of 2024’s accomplishments.
- The chronic absenteeism score shown on the report card reflects the percentage of students that missed 18 or more days of school, excused or unexcused.
- The progress in English language proficiency score is a measure of how many English learners reach their growth target on a specialized test year over year.
A detailed breakdown of how each score is calculated for the state report card is at this link. The breakdown of how federal scores are calculated are at this link.
Those measures have evolved in recent years, which is why Alabama now issues two separate report cards.
Why are there two report cards?
Until 2022, Alabama K-12 schools had a single report card. But in 2022, Alabama lawmakers enacted a state law excluding English learners’ test results from counting in the academic achievement indicator until they’ve been enrolled in an Alabama school for six years.
In 2024, lawmakers excluded nonpublic school students from the academic achievement indicator until they have been enrolled for four years. At the time, lawmakers said that more often than not, students entering public school from a nonpublic school were academically behind.
The changes lawmakers have made in recent years mean Alabama now reports school performance in two ways – one required by state law, the other by federal rules. The result is two report cards measuring many of the same things, but for different purposes.
And while the state report card focuses on a core set of indicators tied to Alabama law, the federal report card goes much deeper, with data on student-group performance, teacher certification and whether the school has been identified for additional support.
Together, those details give a clearer picture of how schools are serving different groups of students and who is teaching them.
Alabama Daily News’ Trisha Powell Crain served on the Accountability Task Force that determined the measures and weights used on the initial set of report cards.