By SPEAKIN’ OUT NEWS | September 2025
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — New data analyzed by the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama (PARCA) shows that some of Alabama’s highest-poverty school districts are recording remarkable improvements in third-grade reading proficiency, outpacing even some of the state’s most affluent systems.
In Wilcox County, where more than 90% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, 96% of third gradersscored at or above the state’s benchmark this spring. After summer literacy camps, every student who tested met the standard, giving Wilcox the second-highest proficiency rate in the state, behind only Mountain Brook.
Other high-poverty districts also made notable progress:
- Lowndes County: 90% proficiency, up 7.6 percentage points from last year.
- Bullock County: 85% proficiency, up 7.5 points.
- Selma City Schools: 90% proficiency, up 5.8 points.
Statewide, the percentage of third graders falling below the benchmark dropped from 17% in 2023 to 9% in 2024, reducing the number of students at risk of being retained under the Alabama Literacy Act.
Literacy Act Investments Paying Off
Passed in 2019, the Literacy Act expanded early reading support and more than doubled funding for the Alabama Reading Initiative, placing trained literacy coaches in every K–3 school and offering professional training for teachers.
The results are also reflected nationally: on the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress, Alabama was one of only two states where fourth-grade reading scores surpassed pre-pandemic levels. The state has climbed from 49th in reading five years ago to 34th today.
Uneven Progress
While many rural districts are surging ahead, challenges remain in larger urban systems. Montgomery Countyproficiency fell from 82% to 76%, while Bessemer City Schools dropped sharply from 85% to 68%.
Still, experts say the trend is encouraging. The success of high-poverty districts like Wilcox, Lowndes, and Selma shows that investments in literacy — combined with pre-K expansion and summer learning — are helping close gaps once thought insurmountable.