Several area school systems outperform state in third grade reading report while others slip

Several area school systems showed improvements in their third grade reading scores, and several systems are performing higher than the state average.

The Alabama Department of Education recently released reading scores from the Alabama Comprehensive Assessment Program for the state’s third graders. The scores are important because a third grader who can’t read on or above grade level may have to repeat third grade.

The state’s focus on reading brought scores up statewide. In the 2024-25 reading assessment, 88.4% of the state’s third graders were reading on or above grade level, down from 91% to the year before and up from 82.6% in 2022-23.

In Selma City Schools, 90% of the third graders are reading at grade level, which is higher than the state figure. This year’s scores saw a 6-point increase over last year.

For Dallas County, 83.1% of its third graders are reading at grade level, which is a slight decrease over the year before and below the state figure.

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Wilcox County did the best in the area, with 95.8% of its third graders reading at grade level. That’s a considerable jump over last year’s 88.5% score.

Marengo County Schools and Perry County Schools have 90% of their third graders reading at grade level, which is slightly higher than the state average. Demopolis Schools are slightly lower than the state average at 88.1%, which is down from its 93.9 score last year.

The Alabama Literacy Act, passed in 2019, states that students who don’t read at grade level by third grade are supposed to be held back, although the act contains exceptions for students who are receiving services for diagnosed learning disabilities. The act also provides alternative methods of measuring a child’s literacy level.

Here's a rundown of scores in the Black Belt News Network’s coverage area. Click here for a chart showing how school systems throughout the state performed. A breakdown by school can be found at https://www.alabamaachieves.org.