Wilcox County reading success highlights Alabama’s literacy investments

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – When Alabama released its reading scores in June, the numbers showed progress in many places, struggles in others – and one district that stood out. 

The Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama (PARCA) recently highlighted Wilcox County, one of the state’s poorest school districts, where 96% of third graders hit the state’s benchmark score on the spring reading test. The remaining 4% reached the mark after summer reading camp, meaning every child was cleared to move on to fourth grade.

While poverty has a well-documented impact on test scores, Wilcox students are showing that relationship isn’t set in stone. More than 90% of the county’s students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, the highest rate of economic disadvantage in the state.

Rep. Terri Collins, R-Decatur, who sponsored the Alabama Literacy Act in 2019, said she is “extremely pleased” about the district’s success, pointing out that they’ve shown what can happen with extraordinary effort.

“It really showcases the hard work, particularly those teachers and those children, students and their families,” she told Alabama Daily News.

The Literacy Act prescribed the supports that were among those that PARCA found that helped students in Wilcox County learn to read. 

Statewide, 88% of third graders met the benchmark score on the spring reading test, down from 91% the year before. But that drop is due to the state board raising the cut score. When last year’s results were recalculated with the higher benchmark 86% of students would have met it.

As part of its Keys to Success series, PARCA examined Wilcox’s reading strategies and whether they’re working in other schools across the state. 

“We as a state have made significant investments in improving literacy in recent years,” Thomas Spencer, the report’s author, told Alabama Daily News. “It’s important to understand which of these interventions have contributed to success in closing gaps and increasing educational opportunity for all so we can sustain that.”

The Department of Education has contracted with PARCA to evaluate the effectiveness of the implementation of the Alabama Literacy Act’s components, but this analysis was not part of that contract, according to PARCA. 

Spencer’s analysis showed that Wilcox is using the state’s formula for early grade reading success: Reading coaches in every elementary school, teachers trained in the science of reading – a research-based way of teaching children to read – and regular testing throughout the year to track progress. 

That makes Wilcox more a model than an outlier. 

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Those investments are paying off in other high-poverty districts, too, PARCA notes. Both Selma and Lowndes County saw 90% of their third graders reach the benchmark score – with poverty rates of 90% and 87%, respectively. 

In fact, across the state, 13 high-poverty districts, including five public charter schools, have improved the percentage of students reading sufficiently by 20 or more percentage points since 2023. 

But in addition to state support, Wilcox County schools have been doing other important work they believe is making a difference.

First, they invested in students before they even reached kindergarten. According to district and school leaders, those investments began as long as a decade ago in early learning and in getting parents on board as their children’s first teachers. 

“We are reaping the benefits of investments we made years ago,” Wilcox County Superintendent Andre Saulsberry told PARCA.  

Two of the district’s three elementary schools, J.E. Hobbs and ABC Elementary, are also getting intensive support through the Governor’s Turnaround School Initiative – a wraparound effort that includes multiple state agencies supporting the entire community, not just the schools. 

That meant Wilcox could put aides in K-2 classrooms and academic interventionists to hone in on individual student  needs. 

The district’s progress over the past three years is remarkable – they’ve posted some of the largest gains in the state.

The chart below shows the percentage of third-graders reaching the benchmark score on the reading test for each of the past three years. Click here if you’re unable to see the chart.

Still, the county’s middle and upper grades continue to struggle with low achievement, a statewide problem that is more severe in places where poverty is concentrated.

PARCA also noted that Wilcox’s two elementary schools are being phased out of the Turnaround initiative, meaning they’ll need to continue their efforts without the additional funding and support provided over the past three years.

Collins said she appreciates the effort it takes to keep improving and looks forward to more success stories like Wilcox County’s. “It shows what we’ve been saying all along: Every single child can learn to read.”