Alabama’s 2024 high school graduates posted improved performance on the ACT compared to prior years, continuing a positive trend at a time when scores have continued to drift down nationally. The ACT is a standardized test designed to measure a student’s readiness to succeed academically in college.

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Nationally, the composite score was down again and so were scores in all four subjects. Though Alabama’s improvement was slight, it was across the board applying to the four tested subjects.

The percentage of Alabama students achieving benchmark scores also moved up in all four subjects and the percentage of students that benchmarked in all four subjects increased as well. ACT data from prior graduating classes shows that 84% of students who have met all four benchmarks graduate with postsecondary degrees within six years.

In Alabama, the composite scores for Asians, Whites, Blacks, and Hispanics all ticked up. Economically disadvantaged students posted improved scores, as well. One exception to the upward trend was a decrease in the percentage of nonpoverty students achieving the benchmark in English, from 60.2% to 59.6%. Economically disadvantaged students improved in English by 27%, exceeding the benchmark in English, which was 25.3% in 2023.

Still, scores are still well behind where they were pre-pandemic. And both in the state and nationally, scores are well behind 2017, which was the peak of performance. Some academic research links the decline to lingering effects of the Great Recession, which led to cuts in education spending. ACT scores peaked in 2007.

The national average composite score was 19.4 in 2024 (down from 19.5 in 2023). That’s higher than Alabama’s public school average of 17.85. However, the two scores should not be compared. Alabama is one of 9 states that tests all high school students, whether they are college-bound or not. In much of the country, only students applying to a four-year college take the ACT. Despite progress, Alabama high school graduates still have room to improve compared to other states where a comparable percentage of students are tested.

Alabama gives the test to all high school juniors. It serves as a gauge of academic performance for schools. Students who earn a benchmark score in at least one of the four subjects qualify as college—and career-ready, one of ten options for achieving that designation. Students must meet one of those ten college—and career-readiness markers in order to graduate.

During the pandemic, the number of test takers dropped, and the importance of the ACT was somewhat diminished as many schools made the test-optional for admission. However, more recently, many colleges have returned to requiring the test.

Using the tabs and menus, you can explore the data in various ways, including comparing system and school-level results. It’s important to remember that ACT scores tend to correlate with economic advantages and disadvantages. The scatterplot chart below arrays systems by the percentage of economically disadvantaged students from the left to right. The systems with the lowest percentages of economically disadvantaged students are on the right. Systems are positioned vertically based on their average composite score. The higher the circle, the higher the score. The line that slants up from left to right traces a correlation between test scores that rise as the percentage of economic disadvantage declines. The size of each system’s circle represents the enrollment of the system.

When systems are clustered close along that line, that indicates there is a strong correlation between the two values. Systems that fall above the line of prediction are exceeding expectations. An example is the Piedmont City School system. In 2024, 65% of students in that system qualified for a free school lunch due to their family income level. And yet the average scale score for Piedmont students far exceeded many school systems where economic disadvantage rates are lower.

Alabama public school fourth graders are scoring higher in both reading and math than they did prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. Alabama and Louisiana are the only two states where that is true, according to an analysis of the results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).

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In fact, in both reading and math, Alabama fourth graders scored close to the national average in 2024. That’s a remarkable turnaround from 2019, when Alabama 4th graders ranked at or near the bottom in both subjects. Only three states posted more improvement in 4th-grade math than Alabama in 2024.

Alabama has shown more growth in 4^th grade math than any other state since 2019. The vast majority of states have lost ground. Alabama and Louisiana are the only states in which 4th-grade reading performance is higher than in 2019.

NAEP scores are based on standardized tests taken by a sample of students in every state. NAEP scores are known as the nation’s report card. In 2024, Alabama 4^th graders’ performance ranked 33^rd in reading and 31^st in math.

Alabama has made large and targeted investments in early grades reading and math instruction, retraining teachers in research-based instructional techniques, stocking schools with dedicated reading and math coaches, and sending higher levels of support and resources to schools that have struggled academically. Results indicate that the investments may be paying off. Considering the timing and nature of the investment, results should continue to improve if results are sustained. The state is still increasing the percentage of its elementary teachers and administrators who have received reading instruction training. Additionally, the Alabama Literacy Act has highlighted the importance of learning to read since students are required to have demonstrated grade-level reading in order to be promoted to fourth grade. In Math, waves of instructional coaches authorized by the Alabama Numeracy Act continue to be trained and deployed.

The NAEP news is not all positive. Alabama’s progress toward the national average is partly due to declining performance in other states. The national average scale score is down in both subjects and both grades compared to 2019, prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2024, scores were down again, except for 4th-grade math, where there was an improvement nationally.

8th Grade Results

For 8th grade, the news was not good for the nation or for Alabama. And Alabama 8^th graders fared poorly, performing worse in 2024 in both subjects. Compared to other states, Alabama 8th graders ranked No. 46 in reading and 48 in math.

In both reading and math Alabama 8^th graders are scoring lower than Alabama 8^th graders did in the early years of the 21^st Century, giving up gains that had been made over the past decade.

Alabama still trails most Southeastern states in both subjects and both grades. That includes Mississippi, where students outscored Alabama students in both grades and both subjects.

According to the 4th grade results, Alabama made gains not only in the percentage of students reaching the basic level and the proficient level but also in the percentage of students scoring at the advanced level.

Unfortunately, the trend is running in the opposite direction for 8th graders, with smaller percentages of students scoring at the proficient or advanced level.

Nationally and in Alabama, there remains a stubborn score gap between racial and ethnic subgroups of students. Among Alabama fourth graders, white students exceeded the national average for the first time in both subjects. Black fourth graders are also closing the gap with the national average for black students in both subjects. Hispanic students made gains toward the national Hispanic average in math but saw a drop in reading performance.

Using the menu options, you can explore the data further, toggling between grades and subjects to examine changes by year in Alabama and other states and relative ranks among states.