Alabama's Education Gains: Progress Amid Challenges

0:00Birmingham's story is making news on March 10th. Alabama Governor Kay Ivey touted big gains in the state's education system during a speech in Birmingham on Friday. She pointed to fourth graders ranking 32nd nationally in math and 34th in reading up from near the bottom just a few years ago. She also highlighted strong recovery in scores after the pandemic and better attendance rates. The latest federal data from the nation's report card backs up those ranking claims for fourth grade math and reading. Alabama has indeed climbed in the national standing since pre-pandemic lows. That said, the improvements come with some caveats. Fewer than 40% of fourth graders are proficient in math or reading, still below the national average. While rankings rose, overall achievement lags behind top states. On recovery, Alabama leaves the nation in fourth grade math score gains from 2022 to 2024 and ranks third in reading, recovery. These jumps show real progress from pandemic drops, but the state remains 32nd overall in

1:02math. Attendance has improved too, with Alabama making one of the biggest reductions in chronic absenteeism nationwide. Still, rates haven't fully returned to pre-COVID levels, and it's not clearly number one across all measures. Data points to gains, but challenges persist. The daily news now is presented by our sponsor. Your pillow just got smarter? It plays your podcast and music. Stop this OLI, solely pillow.com.