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Preliminary 3rd-grade reading results: 47,952 students tested; 88.3% at or above cut score, department warns cut score will rise next year
Summary
Assessment staff presented preliminary ACAP third-grade reading data showing 47,952 students with 88.3% at or above the cut score (down 0.1 point from last year). Officials cautioned districts will validate local files and next year’s higher cut score could lower percentages meeting the standard.
State assessment staff presented preliminary ACAP reading results for third grade and urged caution because districts must still validate their local data.
Shanty Washington, identified in the meeting as leading assessment work, said 47,952 third-graders were included in this preliminary file and 88.3% were at or above the state cut score for this year, compared with 88.4% the prior year — a 0.1-percentage-point decline. Washington emphasized that these figures are preliminary and that districts will begin validating their files the following day.
Department staff explained the cut score for next year will be higher (discussed in the meeting as about 453–454), and that change could reduce the share of students meeting the standard even if student performance is unchanged. The presenters discussed standard errors of measurement, the impact of testing design changes, and the department’s plan to send letters to parents indicating whether a child is on or above grade level.
Speakers placed the state’s results in a national context, citing a recent Education Recovery report covering 2022–25 that characterized national trends as a ‘‘U-shaped recovery.’’ Staff highlighted districts that outperformed peers: DeKalb County, Birmingham City and Tuscaloosa were singled out for strong growth. The board discussed implications for summer reading programs and tiered instruction to support students who remain below the cut score.
What’s next: districts will validate local data beginning the next day and the department plans further releases with district-level breakdowns in June and July. Officials warned that next year’s raised cut score could change headline percentages.
Representative quote: "The number of students that are...47,952 students, and a percentage of students that are at or above 88.3%," said the assessment lead.
