Twelve Alabama schools and two entire school districts were recognized for their progress in ensuring all students can read on grade level before they leave the third grade.

The schools and districts are spotlighted to allow teachers, reading specialists and administrators from other schools to visit and see first-hand what strong implementation of the science of reading principles looks like. Across the state, progress on reading skills and proficiency varies widely, test scores show.

Alabama Reading Initiative Director Bonnie Short said, “It is so exciting to be able to recognize schools that we see are moving in the right direction with regard to the goals we have in Alabama.”

Schools are selected from quantitative and qualitative data, Short said. Two years of ACAP reading and English language arts scores are considered along with how students’ scores have grown during that time.

Evidence of a school’s strong commitment to implementing the components of the Alabama Literacy Act is also reviewed.

Other considerations include:

• Strong leadership,
• Commitment to student centered coaching,
• Participation in state-sponsored science of reading training,
• Use of components of the Alabama Literacy Act including Student Reading Improvement Plans

The complete list of schools and districts, along with the percentage of students in second and third grade who were reading on grade level on spring 2023 reading tests is below. Click here if you’re unable to see the table.