Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Andalusia City Schools received a 91 and ranked 14th of 145 statewide for school district report card grades during the 2021-2022 school year in a release issued Friday, Nov. 18.

According to the report, Andalusia Elementary School earned an “A” with a score of 90. Andalusia High School had a “B” with an 82 followed by Andalusia Junior High School with a “C” at 79.

“I am thrilled with our results. This is a great start, but we still have much work to do. I want to thank our teachers and support staff for all the hard work and dedication you have given our students at Andalusia City Schools,” ACS Superintendent Dr. Daniel Shakespeare said.

The report indicated that Covington County Schools earned a “B” with a score of 88.

Pleasant Home School received an “A” at 91. Straughn Middle School was next with an “A” at 90. Straughn Elementary School had a “B” at 89 followed by a “B” and 84 for Straughn High School. Fleeta Junior High School also scored a “B” with an 81. Florala High School was graded a “C” with a score of 79 and Red Level School also had a “C” at 71.

“I was pleased with our scores overall. We had some strong successes across the district, and we are analyzing the data to see where we need to put more emphasis. The components of the individual school report cards indicate that our students are performing well in academic achievement and growth, and we saw some very good numbers in our graduation rate and career readiness. I commend our teachers and administrators for the great work they are doing to provide an excellent education for our students,” CCS Superintendent Shannon Driver said.

Driver added that an incomplete score was reported for Red Level School. “Since we consolidated Red Level High and Red Level Elementary last year, the State Department of Education calculated the grade for Red Level without their graduation rate and CCRI. The SDE confirmed that their report card grade would have been a “B” instead of the “C” that was reported.”

The report also showed that Opp City Schools received an “A” with a score of 90. Opp Elementary School scored a 94 for an “A” followed by an 82 for a “B” at Opp Middle School. Opp High School received a “C” with a score of 75.

“We are certainly pleased but not satisfied with our report card. The report card indicates what we have known all along, and that is that we have an outstanding school district with great students and a dedicated faculty and staff. We are proud of the hard work that went into our grade, but much work remains. We will continue the efforts that have been working, and we are in the process of evaluating areas of improvement. The work never stops and the goal remains the same for all students proficient and graduating college and/or career ready,” OCS Superintendent Michael Smithart said.

These grades reveal the statewide impact of the pandemic on students with report card grades mostly down at the district and school level, though some bright spots are evident.

The statewide grade of Alabama public schools remains 84, which is a “B.” At a high level, fewer school districts attained an “A” and “B” ranking, which indicated continued struggles since the pandemic. More school districts now are scored as “C,” “D” and “F.”

These are the first letter grades given since 2019 before the pandemic and are based on data from both the 2020-21 and 2021-22 school years. At the district level, grades were generally lower with more districts losing ground than gaining. Public charter schools earn scores as a district as well by school.

State letter grades are calculated based on multiple indicators. Statewide, though the overall score remained the same, scores for each indicator were mixed as follows:

• Academic achievement: 59.7, down from 66.2 previously
• Academic growth: 97.2 up from 93 previously
• College and career readiness: 76.5, up from 75 previously
• Graduation rate: 90.7, up from 90 previously
• Chronic absenteeism: 17.9, up from 11.2 previously
• Progress in English language proficiency: 43.6, down from 45 previously

Alabama lawmakers passed the law requiring the use of letter grades for school and district report cards in 2012, but letter-grade report cards were first released in 2017. Statewide, schools earned a 79, or “C” that year, followed by 80, 84, and then 84 again this year.