The State Department of Education released the results of the Alabama Comprehensive Assessment Program (ACAP) in August. PARCA provides this internet-based data visualization tool to help educators...
According to PARCA’s annual Public Opinion Survey, Alabamians of all political identities regularly cite education as the most important service provided by the state government. Better K-12...
The Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama has launched the PARCA Education Research Center, a dedicated center within PARCA that houses the organization’s longstanding education analysis and...
Sluggish tax collections could set the stage nationally for new hikes in court costs, fines, and fees. That’s according to a recent article by The Pew Charitable Trusts, which observes that “many of...
For over a decade, PARCA has documented the role of court costs as they exist at the intersection of public finance and public safety, sometimes providing the only analysis of this important source of...
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, helps people with low incomes buy food. In FY2025, approximately 740,300 Alabamians, or about 14.3% of...
Use the tabs to move between different views of the data and use the menus to focus in on the systems, schools, or subjects that you are most interested in. Only 5% of registered voters in the Alabama...
New research led by the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama (PARCA) and MDRC indicates that each additional $100 in cumulative court fees for criminal cases is associated with an additional 34...
New research led by the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama (PARCA) and MDRC indicates that each additional $100 in cumulative court fees for criminal cases is associated with an additional 34...
Use the tabs to move between different views of the data and use the menus to focus in on the systems, schools, or subjects that you are most interested in. After multiple years of progress, Alabama...
Use the tabs to move between different views of the data and use the menus to focus in on the systems, schools, or subjects that you are most interested in. Seniors in the graduating class of 2025 set...
Use the tabs to move between different views of the data and use the menus to focus in on the systems, schools, or subjects that you are most interested in. Growth moderated across most of Alabama...
PARCA’s 2026 Annual Forum, “From Crisis to Collaboration: How Data, Policy, and Partnership Saved Lives in Alabama,” spotlighted the multiagency collaboration and bold policy decisions that...
Beyond the Democratic and Republican primary elections scheduled for May 19, voters will decide the fate of two statewide amendments to the Alabama Constitution. One would prevent local district...
Use the tabs to move between different views of the data and use the menus to focus in on the systems, schools, or subjects that you are most interested in. Despite the increasing emphasis on college...
Deaths from drug overdose dropped sharply in 2024 and 2025, due in part to bold policy decisions, the deployment of overdose reversal treatments, and the strategic use of data to target addiction...
The Houston County School System ranks 129th out of 140 school systems in Alabama in per-pupil expenditures. More than half its students — 57% — qualify as economically disadvantaged, slightly above...
Use the tabs to move between different views of the data and use the menus to focus in on the systems, schools, or subjects that you are most interested in. Decreasing immigration from abroad slowed...
Use the tabs to move between different views of the data and use the menus to focus in on the systems, schools, or subjects that you are most interested in. The average ACT score for 2025 Alabama...
Population growth in Alabama and across the country has slowed, particularly when it comes to immigrants coming from abroad, according to the latest estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau. The...
This spring, all Alabama high school graduates will have to earn a marker of college and/or career readiness in order to graduate.1 In this installment of PARCA’s Keys to Success series, we...
VOICES for Alabama’s Children published the 2025 Alabama Kids Count Data Book yesterday. For the 10th year in a row, PARCA worked with VOICES as a data partner for the project. Since...
The Business Education Alliance of Alabama (BEA), with PARCA as its research partner, has released its 2026 report, HIGHER EXPECTATIONS SET AND MET: A Decade of Improving Public Education and...
Each year, PARCA uses data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of State and Local Financesto compare Alabama’s tax collections to all 50 states. The most recent data comes from the2023 Fiscal...
A federally required change in reporting on student race and ethnicity in Alabama public schools has led to a precipitous drop in the reported number and percentage of Hispanic students enrolled in...
Mapping Alabama’s Public–Nonprofit Partnership examines how Alabama’s nonprofit sector functions as an essential partner in the delivery of public services. The report is a collaboration between...
New research indicates that lower fines and fees raise more revenue than higher ones, and that a “collections fee” that is supposed to incentivize payment is instead associated with greater debt. The...
More Alabama public high school graduates than ever are going to four-year colleges directly after graduation, according to the most recent figures provided by the Alabama Commission on Higher...
Tax revenues flowing into Alabama state government returned to a more normal rate of growth in 2025, after several years of unusually high gains. Revenue flowing into both the General Fund and the...
Alabama students continued steady improvement in English and math across all grade levels on the state’s suite of standardized tests, the Alabama Comprehensive Assessment Program (ACAP). The tests are...
This is the first in our new Keys to Success series. The series spotlights schools and school systems that outperform their peers or show remarkable improvement and asks, “What is driving...
Halfway through 2025, Birmingham’s homicide total is half what it was midyear 2024, a dramatic turnaround after a year of record-setting violence. According to data from the Jefferson...
Due to a new higher standard, the number and percentage of third graders who failed to meet the grade-level reading benchmark rose in 2025. However, taking the higher standard into account, this...
Alabama’s public high school graduation rate tied its all-time high in 2024, while the Class of 2024 also set a new record for the percentage of graduates designated ready for college and career...
Passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1) in the U.S. House has sparked discussions about the impact of reductions in federal funding across the U.S. KFF, a nonprofit policy analysis...
New population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau place Mobile as the state’s second-largest city, behind booming Huntsville and ahead of Birmingham and Montgomery, both of which saw...
The sharp drop in overdose deaths in 2024, both nationally and in Jefferson County, wasn’t an accident, according to members of the task force that works to combat the epidemic of drug-related...
Alabama relies on federal spending—Alabama residents do, too. Alabama residents receive over $60 billion from the federal government—23% of all personal income. These figures are based on a September...
PARCA held its 2025 PARCA Annual Forum – State of Mind: Navigating Alabama’s Mental Health Dilemma on March 7, 2025 at The Harbert Center. Mental health is a statewide concern that...
According to the latest estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, Jefferson and Mobile counties grew, and Montgomery narrowed its population losses in 2024 thanks to an increase in international...
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...
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...
Join us for the 2025 PARCA Annual Forum! March 7, 2025 at The Harbert Center in Birmingham – 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Mental health is more than a personal challenge—it’s a community concern with...
PARCA is re-examining Alabama’s Constitution in light of the 2022 passage of a revised and reorganized version of the state’s fundamental law. The approval of the Constitution of 2022 was the...
Leaders from city and county government, education, philanthropy, social services, and community are launching a new partnership to decrease violence and increase health and opportunity in Jefferson...
Each year, PARCA uses data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of State and Local Finances to compare Alabama’s tax collections to the other 50 states. The most recent data comes from the 2022...
Alabama’s population increased by more than 40,000, between July 2023 and July 2024, reaching a total of 5,157,699, according to estimates issued in December by the U.S. Census Bureau. Alabama...
Alabama voters adopted a revised and reorganized Constitution in 2022. However, the “new” Constitution preserved the fundamental attitudes and mechanics of the previous Constitution...
Economic development—using public funds to incentivize private economic investments—is a core government function practiced by both parties and at all levels of government. Numerous public and...
Alabama tax revenues continue to trend toward more normal patterns after a wild post-pandemic ride. The Education Trust Fund, powered by state income and sales taxes, grew modestly, collecting 2.2%...
Today, the Business Education Alliance of Alabama (BEA) is releasing Alabama Can Improve Student Achievement and Prepare a Future Workforce: Here’s How-Part 2, a follow-up to the Governor’s...
When Alabamians vote on November 5, they will be asked to vote on one statewide amendment. “Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama of 2022, to grant certain sixteenth section and...
Alabama student performance in English Language Arts improved significantly in 2024, with the largest spike coming in third grade as the Alabama Literacy Act came into full effect. That’s...
PARCA will be hosting our fifth annual Speaker Series event on the evening of Thursday, September 12th at Red Mountain Theatre Arts Campus. Join us for an unforgettable evening of cocktails and...
Alabama third graders showed major improvement in reading performance in 2024, as the percentage of Alabama students reading sufficiently by the end of third grade jumped by 8 percentage points...
In recent years, Alabamians’ rate of participation in elections has lagged behind other states as electoral competition has decreased and as the state has failed to adopt measures other states...
After being hit hard with declines during the Covid-19 pandemic, Birmingham and Mobile saw an ebb in population declines, while Huntsville and cities in Baldwin County, along with Auburn-Opelika and...
More Alabama high school students graduated ready for college or careers in 2023, according to data recently released by the Alabama Department of Education. Printable PDF available here. Students in...
VOICES for Alabama’s Children published the 2023 Alabama Kids Count Data Book today, marking the 30th edition of the book published by the nonprofit. For the 8th year in a row, PARCA...
The Huntsville area and Baldwin County continue to add more new residents, while growth in Shelby County and St. Clair County helped the Birmingham Metro Area return to positive growth after two years...
Housing inventory continues to fall, and prices continue to rise. Pressures on the housing market ripple across the economy but may have the most significant impact on middle-income workers – those...
PARCA’s most recent public opinion survey finds, once again, aversion to certain taxes, support for public education, and mistrust in state government. At the same time, the survey finds a lack of...
The number and percentage of high school seniors graduating workforce-ready rose with the Class of 2023, according to the results of ACT’s WorkKeys Assessment, a test of skills given to public...
ACT Scores for Alabama public high school students improved in 2023, bucking a downward trend nationally and providing another clue that Alabama schools began recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic...
Statewide Amendment 1 Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama of 2022, to amend Section 71.01 authorizing the Legislature to sign and transmit local laws or constitutional amendments...
In 2022, Alabama adopted a “new” constitution, an improved and reorganized version of the Alabama Constitution of 1901. The vote was the culmination of decades of advocacy and was rightly celebrated...
Join us for the 2024 PARCA Annual Forum! March 8, 2024 at The Harbert Center in Birmingham – 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. We know about Alabama’s workforce challenges. We might not know how housing...
Alabama’s public school enrollment is down slightly for the 2023-2024 school year, with a decline in the number of white students enrolled, partially offset by a growing enrollment of Hispanic...
Alabama’s population increased by 34,000 last year to 5.1 million, driven by increased domestic migration and a decreasing number of deaths, according to the latest population estimates...
Despite the wild gyrations in the economy since the outbreak of COVID-19 in the spring of 2020, the latest comparative data from the U.S. Census Bureau finds Alabama in a familiar position: at or near...
Increases, Decreases, and Trends in the Revenue Supporting State Government The 2023 fiscal year, which ended on September 30, was a mixed year for Alabama revenue collections. After several years of...
According to the 2020 Census, Alabama’s Hispanic and Latino community represented just 5% of Alabama’s population, but between 2010 and 2020, the growth in that demographic accounted for...
The Alabama State Board of Education voted on Thursday to change the test score students must earn to be considered reading on grade level by the end of third grade. The change was recommended by...
Alabama public school students improved their performance on statewide standardized tests in 2023, with the percentage of students testing proficient rising across most of the tested grades (3-8) and...
About one-quarter of Alabama third graders were not reading on grade level by the end of third grade, leaving them vulnerable to academic struggles as they progress in school, according to data from...
Huntsville continued to surge ahead as Alabama’s three other largest cities lost population to surrounding suburbs. However, the pace of decline slowed in Birmingham and Montgomery, as it did in...
PARCA’s new report, titled E-Commerce and Taxation: Questions of Efficiency and Equal Treatment, questions whether changes are needed to the state’s Simplified Sellers Use Tax (SSUT). Executive...
As graduation approaches for the Class of 2023, there’s new data available allowing us to look back on last spring’s graduates. The Class of 2022 faced particular challenges due to the...
People are moving to Alabama, and according to most recent population estimates, the growth is more widespread than it has been. Out of 67 counties, 36 saw population growth between July 1, 2021, and...
In Alabama and across the country, average scores on the ACT, the widely-used college readiness test, dropped for the pandemic-plagued Class of 2022, with Alabama scores reaching their lowest point...
Gov. Kay Ivey identified affordable and high-quality child care as a key priority in her speech to the Public Affairs Research Council’s Annual Forum, held Friday, March 10, at the Harbert...
Alabama’s population grew faster in 2022 than in any year in more than a decade, with changing factors producing the growth, according to estimates generated by the U.S. Census Bureau. Printable...
Alabama’s 2021 public high school graduates entered higher education at a slightly higher rate than the Class of 2020, according to new data from the Alabama Commission on Higher Education...
Alabama’s 2021 public high school graduates entered higher education at a slightly higher rate than the Class of 2020, according to new data from the Alabama Commission on Higher Education. However...
PARCA’s How Alabama Taxes Compare, 2022 Edition, uses data published by the U.S. Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of State and Local Finances to compare tax revenues across the state. This most recent...
Alabama tax collections grew at an eye-popping rate in the 2022 fiscal year, with particularly strong growth in income tax collections (up 27% over 2021) and online sales (up more than 20%). The...
Alabama 4th-grade students performed better in both reading and math between 2019 and 2022, leading to improved national rankings for Alabama on The Nation’s Report Card, the National Assessment...
Beyond the political contests on the November 8th ballot, Alabama voters will decide whether to adopt the Alabama Constitution of 2022, a recompiled version of the current constitution, as well...
Alabama’s population became more diverse over the past decade as the number of non-Hispanic Whites declined and more Alabamians identified as being of a different race, a mixture of races, or of...
Alabama public school students showed increased proficiency in math, science, and English at all grade levels and across virtually all demographic groups in the 2021-2022 school year, according to the...
The percentage of Alabamians without health insurance rose between 2019 and 2020, according to the latest estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau. In 2020, 11.8% of the population under 65 was...
Absent immigration from other states or from abroad, Alabama’s working-age population is on track to shrink in coming years, according to a PARCA analysis of new population estimates from the...
Fewer third graders scored below grade level in reading in 2022 compared to the previous year, according to results released by the Alabama Department of Education. Still, 22% or 11,725 students...
Halfway to 2025, Alabama is slightly behind pace to meet its goal of adding 500,000 new skilled workers to its workforce by 2025, according to a new study commissioned by Gov. Kay Ivey’s office. The...
With elections for governor and legislature pending in the fall, Alabamians are united in support for public investment in education and healthcare, divided on how to raise money for new investments...
Each year, PARCA analyzes population estimates issued by the U.S. Census Bureau. Visualizations of the population estimates and change for the state, counties, and metro areas can be found on our data...
When voters go to the polls on May 24, they will be asked to vote on a single amendment to the Alabama Constitution of 1901, a proposal to borrow $85 million to pay for repairs and upgrades at...
With graduation season now upon us, new data allows us to look back at statistics for last May’s public high school graduates, Alabama’s Class of 2021. In 2021, 92% of seniors graduated...
Our 2022 edition of How Alabama Cities Compare (the tenth edition of PARCA’s study of Alabama city finances) introduces a new methodology, highlights the challenges of comparing municipal finances...
VOICES for Alabama’s Children published the 2021 Alabama Kids Count Data Book this month. For the 6th year in a row, PARCA provided the data and analysis for the project. Since 1994, the Alabama...
The average ACT score for students graduating from Alabama’s public high schools in 2021 was down only slightly, while the national average score fell more steeply, a fact that could be...
New estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau show that more than half of Alabama counties lost population between July 1, 2020, and July 1, 2021, losses driven by an aging population, a declining...
PARCA’s Annual Forum on March 11, 2022, focused on efforts to improve math and reading education instruction for students in Alabama and Mississippi. The program featured the Superintendents of...
The recovery from the pandemic presents an opportunity for Alabama to regain momentum by investing in proven strategies for improving reading, math, and college & career readiness argues a new...
Expanding Medicaid coverage in Alabama could save the state almost $400 million per year over the next six years – more than enough to cover the cost of expansion – and have an average positive...
Alabama had the nation’s second-lowest tax collections per capita in 2019. Only Tennessee had lower state and local tax revenue per resident than Alabama. Since the early 1990s, Alabama had the...
Despite the disruptions of the pandemic, Alabama high school graduates who entered college in 2020 were less likely to be assigned to remedial education and thus should be in a better position to...
The college-going rate for Alabama public high school graduates declined substantially in 2020, reaching a seven-year low, more than 10% below the rate in 2014. A drop was expected considering the...
PARCA BELIEVES Alabama can do better. Sound public policy is essential. It requires open, transparent and responsive government. It is based on fact, pursues a clear goal, and is assessed honestly...
By the end of FY 2021, Alabama tax collections had grown at their fastest pace in recent history, fueled by economic recovery from pandemic shutdowns and by unprecedented injections of federal...
After a year and a half of Covid-clouded schooling, only about half of Alabama students, grades 3-8, scored proficient in reading, and less than a quarter reached the proficient level in math on the...
PARCA Senior Research Analyst Dr. Don Dailey died October 9, 2021. A graduate of Birmingham’s Banks High School, Don earned a bachelor’s and masters from the University of Alabama and a Ph.D. from...
Print full analysis here. When the pandemic closed schools in March 2020, Piedmont City Schools didn’t have to scramble to purchase laptops. The system didn’t have to figure out how to get their...
Despite the pandemic, Alabama public schools maintained a high on-time graduation rate in 2020. However, the number and percentage of students meeting the state’s definition of college and...
Between 2015 and 2019, an increasing number and percentage of Alabama students earned high marks on the ACT’s WorkKeys, a standardized test designed to measure skills in workplace applications...
PARCA’s 2021 public opinion survey finds a growing majority of Alabamians support spending more on education but a lack of consensus on how to pay for the increase. Among the findings: Taxes 61% of...
Recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau indicate a growing number of people moving to Alabama prior to the Covid pandemic, which helped offset population loss due to a rising death rate and declining...
Average ACT scores for Alabama public high school graduates declined with the graduating class of 2020, with students now scoring lower than they did five years ago. The results mirror a national...
The number and percentage of Alabama public high school graduates assigned to remedial courses upon entering college continued to decline in 2019, one measure of academic progress for K-12 schools and...
In March, the nonprofit Business Education Alliance commissioned PARCA to provide research describing the unprecedented challenges and opportunities in education faced by the state in this moment. For...
Even before the arrival of the Coronavirus, the number and percentage of Alabama high school graduates entering higher education after graduation was falling. According to new data from the Alabama...
Significantly fewer students are receiving corporal punishment in Alabama, according to a new dataset released by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights and analyzed by the Public...
The big count with major consequences for Alabama continues, and it looks like it will come down to a very tight margin. The decennial census for 2020, the official count of people living in the...
Taking population into consideration, Jefferson County may have more jails than any other major county in the U.S., and the county’s mayors are investigating options for decreasing the liability...
VOICES for Alabama’s Children recently released its 2020 Alabama Kids Count Data Book last month. This annual statistical portrait is meant to provide a roadmap for policymakers who seek to...
Alabama’s high school seniors of 2019 graduated at the highest rate the state has ever reported, 92%. And, a greater proportion of those students, 80%, were rated college and career ready than...
Before the Coronavirus pandemic, economic developers in Southeast Alabama recognized the advantages of pulling together as a region rather than each city and county trying to recruit new industry...
Alabama had the nation’s second-lowest tax collections per capita in 2018, the first time since the 1990s that any other state — in this case Tennessee — had lower state and local...
Tax revenue flowing into Alabama’s General Fund and Education Trust Fund held up surprisingly well in 2020 fiscal year in spite of the Coronavirus pandemic, thanks to an extremely strong state economy...
When voters go to the polls on November 3, they will not only be voting in the primary race for President, Vice-President, one U.S. Senate seat, seven U.S. House of Representatives, multiple state...
Only about half the students who earn four-year degrees from Alabama colleges are found to be working in the state five years after graduation, according to a new study by the Alabama Commission on...
While Alabama continues to gain on other states in the percentage of adults with a high school diploma, it is falling further behind the national average when it comes to the percentage of the...
The National Institute of Early Education Research (NIEER) at Rutgers University has recognized research on the persistence of the impact of First Class Pre-K. Researchers from the University of...
The 2020 Census is nearing its end—and apparently earlier than expected. NPR first reported that the U.S. Census Bureau plans to end the door-to-door count at the end of September rather than at the...
Alabama schools are set to re-open in August, with plans for local systems to offer educational services through traditional on-campus schools, remote on-line education, and a hybrid of traditional...
Black students face harsher disciplinary measures than white students for similar offenses, a PARCA review of public school disciplinary records has found. Meanwhile, Alabama is one of few states...
PARCA—the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama— works to inform and improve state and local government in Alabama through independent, objective, nonpartisan research. We pursue this work to...
Huntsville’s population grew past Montgomery’s and crossed the 200,000 mark in 2019, making the Rocket City the second largest city in Alabama. If those estimates are accurate and current...
High school seniors and recent graduates are preparing to enter a workforce that has been disrupted, hopefully only temporarily. In a matter of weeks, the nation has gone from record low unemployment...
The percentage of first-time college students from Alabama public high schools assigned to remedial courses in math and English has continued to drop overall and, in the most recent data available...
Alabama is in line to receive more than $2.47 billion from the CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security) Act signed into law by President Trump on March 27. A supplemental act passed...
Alabama’s seven congressional representatives issued recommendations on re-opening Alabama’s economy to Governor Ivey last week. Governor Ivey plans to announce her decision on April 28. Guidelines...
Alabama public high school students’ performance on the ACT was down slightly in 2019 for the second straight year, after hitting a high point in 2017. Alabama students’ average score was 18.9 on a...
PARCA’s 2020 Public Opinion Survey, completed before the onset of the COVID-19 in the U.S., hints at the challenges state policymakers will face in responding to the pandemic. The...
PARCA is sensitive to the challenges of the Coronavirus pandemic. We are responding with reports we hope are helpful. It is also important to continue moving forward. History tells us that disease has...
In support of the work of the government and health care professionals involved in the Coronavirus containment effort, PARCA is gathering information and resources as the situation unfolds. Check back...
The Alabama Legislature’s two-week recess is over, but the session will not resume on March 31. No date has been set to reconvene either house. The Legislature is constitutionally mandated to...
The latest estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau show a more broadly distributed pattern of population growth in 2019 with continued and accelerating strength in north Alabama counties and a surge...
While the COVID-19 pandemic rightly consumes so much of our attention, it is important—and perhaps comforting—to remember that other important aspects of public life continue. One of these is...
State Health Officer Scott Harris, on March 19, issued a statewide ban on gatherings of 25 people or more, ordered restaurants to cease dine-in service, prohibited visitation at nursing homes, closed...
See the menu at the top of the PARCA homepage: Updated information available at PARCA’s Coronavirus Resource page Responding to the spread of Cornavirus, Alabama’s State Health Officer ordered...
Alabama has record low unemployment, one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country. And yet, the percentage of Alabamians actually working is lower than almost any other state. This seeming...
Alabama is scheduled to implement its new state education tests this spring. In the meantime, statewide results from the Scantron assessment in 2019 have been released by the Alabama State Department...
Before each election, PARCA provides an analysis of proposed statewide amendments to the Alabama Constitution. When voters go to the polls on March 3, they’ll not only be voting in the primary...
In 2020, Alabama is in the midst of one of the most significant workforce initiatives in the state’s history. Reports have highlighted the need for 500,000 additional highly skilled workers by 2025...
Alabama spent 2019 looking back at its first 200 years of statehood. In 2020, it seems appropriate to look forward to the next 100. PARCA’s annual meeting, held Friday at Birmingham’s...
The PARCA Roundtable Class of 2020 was announced in late December. The PARCA Roundtable is a member-based organization of young, civic and business leaders interested in broadening their understanding...
New estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau show Alabama attracting more migrants from other U.S. states, but the state likely doesn’t have enough population momentum to avoid losing a congressional...
Despite gaining some ground in 2017, Alabama state and local governments still collected less in taxes than state and local governments in any other state on a per capita basis. That’s been true...
Alabama is at risk of losing federal funding, a congressional seat, and an Electoral College vote. These outcomes are based on projected results of the 2020 Census. The 22nd decennial census, mandated...
When the 2019 results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) were released last week, the good news was that fourth-grade students in our neighbor state, Mississippi, scored at the...
The thriving economy produced another year of surging tax collections for Alabama’s General Fund and Education Trust Fund (ETF), the two primary accounts that provide state funding for government...
The WorkKeys Assessment is a standardized test given to 12th graders in Alabama public schools. The assessment is meant to measure skills relevant to many of today’s work environments. In 2018:...
Any effort to promote cooperation between governments quickly runs into skepticism. Cities and their citizens are self-interested, the thinking goes. They are not going to give up their advantages...
In 2012, the Alabama State Board of Education adopted Plan 2020, which embraced a vision for the state education system led by the motto: “Every child a graduate. Every graduate prepared.” The plan...
The following feature, which describes an alliance between the City of Montevallo, The University of Montevallo (UM), and Shelby County, marks the launch of an occasional series on creative...
Children who have participated in Alabama’s First Class Pre-K program, a voluntary, public early education program are about half as likely to be involved in disciplinary problems throughout their...
Huntsville continues its trajectory towards becoming Alabama’s largest city, while Birmingham, Montgomery, and Mobile continue to drift lower, according to the most recent city population...
After publishing ACT results for the graduating Class of 2018, PARCA contacted several of the schools and systems in Alabama that showed the largest improvement in average composite ACT scores between...
The latest estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau show continued strong growth in the Huntsville metropolitan statistical area (MSA), slightly positive growth in the Birmingham MSA, and slight declines...
The Alabama Legislature is currently considering a bill that would potentially overhaul state education governance and policymaking as it relates to K—12 public schools in the state. The bill, which...
Alabama public high school students’ performance on the ACT was down slightly in 2018, after hitting a high point in 2017. Alabama students’ average score was 19.1 on a 36-point scale, compared to...
With just a few hours remaining to file state and federal taxes, revisit our 2018 analysis of state and local taxes, originally published in December 2018. Alabama’s state and local governments...
See the Full Survey A slight majority of Alabamians oppose building new prisons, but an overwhelming majority support expanding rehabilitation and re-entry programs for people leaving prison...
Mayors from 22 cities in Jefferson County signed a “Good Neighbor Pledge” Wednesday, committing their cities to a set of economic development ground rules designed to prevent incentive...
The percentage of first-time college students assigned to remedial education before embarking on college courses continues to drop, according to the latest data provided by the Alabama Commission on...
The college-going rate for Alabama public high school graduates declined in 2017, and for the first time in three years, the number of high school graduates who went on college declined as well...
Energized by a climate of opportunity and a burst of positive attention for the region, civic leaders in the Shoals have launched a new effort to improve the economy and quality of life through...
Alabama has a record low unemployment rate, with employers hungry for employees. It is a moment of great opportunity to move more Alabamians into the workforce with the skills and education...
How we view, value, and fund the justice system generally, and prisons, in particular, is complex and value-laden, particularly in Alabama. Our prisons have been marked by violence, overcrowding, poor...
Students who attended the First Class Pre-K program in Alabama are more likely to be proficient in reading and math compared to other students — and this academic advantage persists over time. This is...
As Alabama approaches its 200th birthday, the state is still adding population but at a slower rate than most of its Southeastern neighbors. The U.S. Census Bureau released new state-level population...
Alabama public school students who participated in the state’s publicly funded First Class Pre-K program performed better on academic assessments than those who did not, and the improved performance...
Alabama’s state and local governments collect less per capita in taxes than state and local governments in any other state in the union, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Annually...
Thanks to a booming economy, Alabama saw significantly increased revenue to both the General Fund and the Education Trust Fund (ETF) in 2018, with collections far exceeding expectations. By the...
When voters go to the polls on November 6, they’ll not only be electing a governor, legislators, and other state and local officials, they’ll also be asked to vote on 19 new amendments to...
In late 2017, the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama (PARCA) surveyed Alabama voters to determine their thoughts about the general direction of the state and the issues that most concern them...
In late 2017, the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama (PARCA) surveyed Alabama voters to determine their thoughts about the general direction of the state and the issues that most concern them...
In late 2017, the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama (PARCA) surveyed Alabama voters to determine their thoughts about the general direction of the state and the issues that most concern them...
In late 2017, the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama (PARCA) surveyed Alabama voters to determine their thoughts about the general direction of the state and the issues that most concern them...
In late 2017, the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama (PARCA) surveyed Alabama voters to determine their thoughts about the general direction of the state and the issues that most concern them...
PARCA collaborated with Samford University to conduct our annual telephone survey of Alabama citizens between June 4 and July 18, 2018. The survey was directed by Dr. Randolph Horn and was under the...
In late 2017, the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama (PARCA) surveyed Alabama voters to determine their thoughts about the general direction of the state and the issues that most concern them...
In late 2017, the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama (PARCA) surveyed Alabama voters to determine their thoughts about the general direction of the state and the issues that most concern them...
In late 2017, the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama (PARCA) surveyed Alabama voters to determine their thoughts about the general direction of the state and the issues that most concern them...
The Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama’s research report Together We Can: Charting a Course to Cooperation for Greater Birmingham received national recognition by the Governmental...
Join us for an uproarious night of musical political satire with The Capitol Steps, benefiting the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 27 AT 7:30 P.M. AT BIRMINGHAM’S...
Last weekend at the Business Council of Alabama’s Governmental Affairs Conference, the Business Education Alliance unveiled its latest report, produced by the Public Affairs Research Council of...
In late 2017, the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama (PARCA) surveyed Alabama voters to determine their thoughts about the general direction of the state and the issues that most concern them...
Background In late 2017, the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama (PARCA) surveyed Alabama voters to determine their thoughts about the general direction of the state and the issues that most...
In this graduation season, we take a look back at some encouraging educational statistics for last year’s graduating class, the Class of 2017. For the Class of 2017, the final tally for the state high...
In 2018, Alabamians will elect a governor and five other statewide executive branch officers, 140 legislators, and scores of local officials. Those elected will lead Alabama for the next four years...
At least in terms of education, it’s time to retire the old Alabama catchphrase, “Thank God for Mississippi.” It’s an easy response when the latest list comes out that finds...
The ACT Aspire, a suite of standardized tests given statewide to students in grades 3-8 and 10, has been the State of Alabama’s primary tool for measuring the academic progress of Alabama public...
This past Wednesday, May 16th, PARCA held a 2018 Gubernatorial Candidate Forum at Woodrow Hall in Birmingham. The event was hosted by the PARCA Roundtable, PARCA’s young professionals’...
As a follow-up to PARCA’s previous post on estimated changes to Alabama’s population in comparison to other states, we now present recent U.S. Census estimates of population change in...
Alabama’s pace of population growth increased in 2017, but the state remains slow-growing compared to most of its Southeastern neighbors, according to the latest estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau...
With population growth and a rising high school graduation rate, Alabama’s high schools are producing more graduates and they are sending more graduates, in absolute numbers, to higher education...
What issues most concern Alabamians? What options do policy makers have to address these issues? These are the questions behind Alabama Priorities – a new initiative of the Public Affairs Research...
As the Alabama Legislature returns to Montgomery today, it faces an unusual situation: a relatively stable financial picture. Both the state’s main checking accounts, the General Fund and the...
Since late 1988, the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama has produced an analysis of Alabama’s tax revenues. Relying on the U.S. Census Bureau’s annual survey of state and local...
The latest statistics from the Alabama Commission on Higher Education (ACHE) show that Alabama high schools are making progress in producing graduates who are ready for college-level coursework...
PARCA’s latest report, How Alabama Roads Compare, provides an in-depth analysis of the conditions, funding and future of our state’s roads and bridges. Data presented in the report can...
In June 2017, the Alabama State Board of Education voted to cancel its contract with ACT for the administration of the ACT Aspire, a suite of standardized tests which, for the past four years, has...
PARCA’s latest report, commissioned by the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham, focuses on the fragmentation of the Birmingham region, the challenges it causes, and potential solutions...
The Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama and the PARCA Roundtable will be hosting the PARCA Roundtable Legislative Symposium on June 23, 2017 from 7:30 – 9:30 a.m. at The Harbert Center in...
How Alabama Cities Finances Compare How Alabama City Finances Compare is the ninth edition of PARCA’s study of Alabama city finances. This report provides basic information on municipal...
Today, PARCA released the results of its annual public opinion survey. The poll of over 350 Alabama residents was conducted by Randolph Horn, Samford University, Professor of Political Science and...
Just over 60 percent of Alabama’s 2016 high school graduates scored “workforce ready” in 2016, according to new results from ACT’s WorkKeys assessment. The Class of...
We at the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama remember our founder, Governor Albert P. Brewer, who died January 2, 2017, at the age of 88. Gov. Brewer was a lifelong champion of equitable...
Click here to print New data show Alabama students improving performance in math, reading, and science on the ACT Aspire, the year-end standardized tests given to students across Alabama. In all three...
Click here to print Alabama’s 2016 school and system-level results for the ACT, the widely-known test of college readiness, are now available. With the interactive charts posted below, you can...
The Alabama Legislature’s Joint Legislative Task Force on Budget Reform met for a third time this week in Montgomery continuing its search for solutions to Alabama’s perennial problems...
Both the accounts that pay for state government operations, the General Fund and the Education Trust Fund (ETF), ended the 2016 Fiscal Year basically flat when compared to the previous year, a...
When Alabama voters go to the polls on November 8, they will be asked to consider adding 35 more amendments to the Alabama Constitution. PARCA has compiled a summary of each of the 14 amendments that...
Click here to print What percentage of the graduates from your local high school go on to college? Where do they go? To four-year universities or two-year colleges? In-state or out-of-state? Private...
A newly formed Joint Legislative Task Force on Budget Reform meets for the first time this week in Montgomery: a group of House and Senate members tasked with studying and recommending changes to the...
The latest report by PARCA was released last week at the Business Council of Alabama’s 2016 Governmental Affairs Conference. The report, entitled “Exceeding Expectations: Keys to Alabama’s...
PARCA’s research reports on education funding, Alabama’s education performance, and plans for its improvement received national recognition by the Governmental Research Association (GRA) at...
Tuscaloosa’s annual Education Summit, organized by the Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama, was held on Wednesday, June 8th at the Bryant Conference Center at the University of Alabama. The...
Click here to print this post In 2015, for the first time, all high school seniors took a new assessment test, WorkKeys, designed to determine whether students are learning the skills they need to...
Click here to print this post. We now have the 2015 results for the ACT, the widely-known test of college readiness. With interactive charts posted below, you can explore how well your local public...
Want to explore how your local public school system or school performed on the statewide benchmark test, the ACT Aspire? Using Aspire results, PARCA works with local school systems to analyze...
PARCA’s Annual Meeting was held in Birmingham on Friday, February 5. Its focus was Alabama’s process for formulating budgets. PARCA’s description of current budget issues can be...
As February approaches, the Legislature is preparing to return to Montgomery for yet another tough session of struggling with Alabama’s budgets. The Governor’s Office is in the process of...
In January 2016, The Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama conducted its annual poll of public opinion. This is the 10th year of the survey. This year, the survey focuses on revenue and spending...
The Alabama Commission on Higher Education has produced a new set of data that gives a more complete picture of the college-going rate statewide and for individual high schools. According to the data...
Alabama once again ranks last in per capita state and local tax collections, according to new data released by the U.S. Census Bureau. Alabama has consistently maintained its No. 50 ranking since the...
Receipts to Alabama’s Education Trust Fund grew by 4.2 percent in FY2015, according to year-end revenue reports, allowing the state to finish repaying the education’s borrowing from the...
Like many cities, Mobile, Ala., didn’t even know how many blighted properties it had. Instagram offered a cheap and simple way to start figuring that out. Mobile’s use of social media...
Despite the healthy economy, the state’s General Fund posted its usual sputtering performance in 2015, according to the state’s year-end revenue collection reports. The General Fund, which supports...
The National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) is a battery of tests given every two years to a representative sample of students in all 50 states. The test is designed to serve as a national...
K-12 education has been, in recent years, the subject of a massive amount of data-gathering and analysis. From individual classrooms to state boards of education, data is being used to evaluate, to...
With the passage of the state’s general fund budget last week, PARCA Senior Research Associate Tom Spencer took a moment to sit down with WBHM’s Andrew Yeager to provide an overview of the...
Alabama’s 2015 graduating class was the first in which all students took the well-known college readiness test, the ACT. New state-level reports on the 2015 results provide a wealth of information...
With the Governor and Legislature still at odds over how to solve a $250 million shortfall in the state’s General Fund, we thought it would be useful to again call attention to two essential...
PARCA’s new Teachers Matter report, commissioned by the Business Education Alliance, identifies Alabama-specific strategies for recruiting and retaining teachers. The report’s release...
Alabama public schools have made substantial progress in raising high school graduation rates, but must continue to improve student performance on measures of college and career readiness. To do...
PARCA continues to explore the results of the state’s new standardized test, the Aspire, and is developing new ways of looking at the data. Aspire was developed by the same testing company that...
Thanks to Plan 2020, the state’s strategic plan for improving the state’s public schools, schools and the communities they serve have increased access to data on school performance...
Jim Williams, who has served as PARCA’s executive director since its founding, plans to step down from that position later this year after 27 years of dedicated service. PARCA’s Board of...
Take a look at the 2014 ACT Aspire results for Heard Magnet Elementary school in Dothan. The following images show the percentage of students at each grade level scoring proficient on the Aspire, the...
Each year, PARCA travels to Dothan to present data on the city school system to educators, parents, and the public. The PARCA analysis, sponsored by the Dothan-based Wiregrass Foundation...
PARCA has been working on a new system for presenting information about Alabama’s public schools. In the next few posts, we will be rolling out some tools that we hope educators, parents...
Alabama public high schools produced more graduates in 2014 than they produced the previous year, and more of them enrolled in Alabama public two-year and four-year colleges and universities...
Alabama state government employs 4,923 fewer people than it did in 2008, according to the figures provided by the Alabama State Personnel Department. With the exception of 2013, the total number of...
Speaking before a sell-out crowd of more than 400 at the Harbert Center on Friday, Feb. 13, Gov. Robert Bentley said he will propose bold solutions in the face of a steep budget shortfall. In his...
According to a new poll of public opinion commissioned by the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama, state residents would be willing to pay more in taxes to avoid budget cuts in key areas like...
The PARCA Quarterly Winter 2015 edition provides perspective on Alabama’s budget challenges and reform efforts in education, Medicaid, and the state prison system. The Quarterly provides...
WHAT PEOPLE SAY “PARCA has and continues to provide MAEF and our community data as an unbiased third party entity. PARCA’s ability to present layers of data in a public-friendly manner informs...
In tough budget years, lawmakers have often looked for alternative ways to bring in revenue to support state government operations. In the case of the judicial branch of government, the...
The Alabama Department of Education this week released statewide results of its Grades 3-8 assessment tests, broadly known as the ACT Aspire. The Aspire tests, which were taken statewide for the...
Enlarge to explore. It’s now official. In 2014, Alabama added 12 more amendments to its constitution, bringing the total number to 892. The State Elections Canvassing Board met the final week in...
Budget discussion, State Board of Education, Nov. 12 With the General Fund facing an acute shortfall and the education budget still struggling to recover to pre-Great Recession levels, there are...
While the looming shortfall in Alabama’s ailing General Fund has received much attention, the state’s Education Trust Fund (ETF) isn’t exactly enjoying robust growth, according the recently published...
The final tallies are in for fiscal year 2014 collections to the state’s General Fund. The results are, as usual, lackluster. Collections from the assortment of taxes that feed the Fund grew by just...
The Alabama Department of Corrections has jurisdiction over more than 32,000 individuals who’ve been convicted of a crime and are serving sentences in prisons, work release centers, supervised reentry...
Any attempt to address the perennial shortfalls faced by the state’s General Fund account has to start with attention to Medicaid, the program that pays for the healthcare and long-term care of the...
When the new legislature convenes in 2015, it will face an old problem: a shortfall in the state’s $1.8 billion General Fund account. This time, state leaders are expecting as much as a $200 million...
Earlier this year, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis released a new way of looking at income and prices across the United States. Income levels vary from state to state; but so do prices paid by...
Raising Alabama’s high school graduation rate to 90 percent would produce an economic impact to the state’s economy similar to landing an industrial mega-project, and that impact would be...
New technologies provide opportunities for people to conduct business and allow governments to provide services in more efficient ways as well. Online banking and e-commerce websites have become more...
Summer Adventures in Learning, the Birmingham-centered collaborative of summer learning programs, has expanded to 30 sites this summer offering academically-enriched summer recreational camps...
The Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama hosted an education summit this month, featuring presentations from state Superintendent Tommy Bice, Tuscaloosa City and County School System superintendents...
Use this visualization to explore the results for the Alabama Reading and Math Test (ARMT) over time for the school system you’re interested in. The ARMT, which tested children in grades 3-8...
Revenue from the gasoline tax, the money that goes into building and maintaining roads, continues to decline in Alabama. Cars are using less gas, and Alabama’s state gas tax is collected on a per...
Impact Alabama, a statewide service organization that harnesses the energy of college students, deployed more than 570 IRS-certified students and volunteersduring this spring’s tax season...
April is traditionally the month we think about taxes. National tax comparisons are published, and we were reminded again this year that Alabama has among the lowest taxes in the U.S. In this...
