Test scores in Alabama are rising overall, but the story looks different depending on location. Some districts continue to post strong gains, while others struggle with low proficiency tied closely to poverty.
Alabama Daily News reviewed the spring 2025 Alabama Comprehensive Assessment Program results — and built interactive charts showing results by district and by school — to see where gains were made and what the numbers show about growth and gaps.
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The connection between poverty and proficiency remains strong: the higher the percentage of students in poverty, the lower the proficiency rate in that district. Even within that relationship, the range of scores is striking — about 80 percentage points in math, 65 in English language arts and 75 in science.
Districts with the highest levels of proficiency were those with the lowest levels of poverty, including Mountain Brook, Vestavia Hills, Homewood, Orange Beach and Trussville.
The lowest proficiency rates — in some cases single digits in math — were in districts where 80% or more of their students live in poverty, including Perry and Sumter counties and Fairfield, Lanett and Tarrant City schools.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Trisha Powell Crain and originally published by Alabama Daily News.
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