Alabama school test scores trend up in English, math, science: Find your school

The majority of Alabama’s public schools have good news to share when it comes to the latest test results, released by the state department of education on Friday.

Generally speaking, students are performing better in English language arts, math and science subjects, with some exceptions.

AL.com published state and district results – which also are trending upward – so here’s a quick look at school-level results from 2024 spring tests, too. Scroll down to find your school.

There are two ways of looking at scores: Proficiency and growth. Proficiency means students scored at level three or four on the standardized test they took. Growth considers the change in the percentage of students reaching proficiency from one year to the next.

Growth

Looking across all public schools in the state, 900 out of 1,278 schools improved proficiency levels by at least one percentage point in English language arts. Seven hundred schools improved math scores by at least one percentage point, and 650 improved science scores by one or more percentage points.

Eleven schools improved scores in all three subjects by 10 percentage points or more. One of those schools, Birmingham City’s Princeton School, an elementary magnet school, improved in all three subjects by more than 20 percentage points.

Some schools, such as i3 Academy in Birmingham, say they pay particular attention to growth as they try to get students quickly caught up to their peers.

Proficiency

Elementary schools tend to have the highest rates of proficiency of the various grade-level groupings. Proficiency levels among elementary schools ranged widely:

• From 11% to 99% in English language arts,
• From 1% to 91% in math and
• From 0% to 96% in science.

Mountain Brook’s Crestline Elementary had the highest math score among elementary schools, at 91%. Montgomery’s Forest Avenue Elementary, a magnet school, had the highest scores in English language arts (99%) and in science (96%).

In the middle school grades, proficiency levels typically begin to decline. Range of proficiency levels in the state include:

• From 13% to 96% in English language arts,
• From 1% to 71% in math and
• From 4% to 85% in science.

Jefferson County International Baccalaureate School had the top scores among middle schools in English and science, with 96% and 85% proficiency levels, respectively. Vestavia Hills’ Pizitz Middle School had the highest proficiency level in math, at 71%.

Traditional ninth through 12th grade high schools test only one grade level – 11th grade – and use the ACT with writing to measure proficiency. With the exception once again of the magnet schools, overall proficiency levels are lower than both middle and elementary schools.

Among the state’s high schools, proficiency levels ranged as follows:

• From 0% to 100% in English language arts,
• From 0% to 93% in math, and
• From 5% to 96% in science.

Montgomery’s Loveless Academic Magnet Program, or LAMP, had the highest proficiency levels in each subject area of all high schools in the state. Sumter Central High School, where the district has been taken over by the state, had zero students reach proficiency in math or English language arts.

Within some schools across the state, one or more grade levels had no students reach proficiency in one or more subjects.

Specialty schools: Magnet, charter and virtual

Thirty-six schools are designated as magnet schools, with most serving academically high-achieving students. That shows in their test results. Montgomery’s LAMP High School and Forest Avenue Elementary School have some of the highest proficiency levels among not only the magnets, but also traditional state schools.

Test scores for the state’s three specialty schools – Alabama School of Fine Arts, Alabama School of Mathematics and Science, and Alabama School of Cyber Technology and Engineering, are not shared publicly.

Of the state’s 19 charter schools, the majority saw the percentage of students reaching proficiency rise. One elementary charter school, i3 Academy in Birmingham, had big gains in all three subjects.

University Charter School, a K-12 rural charter school in Livingston in west Alabama, topped the charts among charter schools in proficiency levels. The school has two campuses, elementary serving K-5 and secondary serving sixth through 12th grades.

Fourteen virtual schools – meaning all students do their work entirely remotely – scored about the same as they did last year, with the majority dropping proficiency levels by a few percentage points in all three subjects.

Find your school’s scores here

The table below shows proficiency levels for all students in all grades tested at the school.

A detailed dashboard with a breakdown of scores by grade, subject, race, ethnicity and student subgroups is available at this link. The dashboard is best viewed on a large monitor.

How state tests and scores work

The results come from the Alabama Comprehensive Assessment Program, or ACAP. Students in third through eighth and 11th grade are tested in English language arts and math. Students in grades 4, 6, 8 and 11 are also tested in science.

Recognizing that tests are the result of a single day’s testing in any subject, results should reflect what students have learned during the year. Students are typically tested in March and April.