The Alabama Policy Institute conducts research regarding cultural indicators and publishes them every year.
Cultural Indicators 2014 for Alabama and the United States tracks various Alabama-specific and national measures of societal well-being dating back to 1960, as statistics are available. Chapters are devoted to:
Since 1970, the percentage of Alabama residents age 25 and older with a high school diploma has doubled (103% gain), while the percentage of adults with at least a four-year college degree has almost tripled( 196%). By comparison, the percentage of adults nationwide with at least a high school diploma or a college degree has risen 56% and 172% respectively. In Alabama, academic gains have been greatest among blacks. Between 1970 and 2012, the percentage of blacks with at least a high school diploma increased from 22% to 80%, a gain of 263%. By comparison, the percentage of whites with at least a high school diploma rose by 83%, from 47% to 86%.
In 2012, Alabama ranked 46th in the nation in the percentage of adults age 25 and older with at least a high school diploma or its equivalent and 45th for adults holding at least a bachelor's degree. The more diplomas an adult holds, the greater their earning potential. According to data collected in 2012 by the U.S. Census Bureau, possessing income for Alabama residents by almost $7,000 ($25,485) and a bachelor's degree by almost $26,500 ($45,124).
In 2013, 79% (38,122) of all graduating high school seniors in Alabama took the ACT. Of these, the average composite score was 20.4, the 36th highest in the nation. Of the 26 states in which most students took the ACT in 2013, Alabama was in 15th place.
Seventy-nine percent (30,233) of Alabama's high school students taking hte ACT in 2013 were core course completers - that is, they had taken at least:
Of these, their composite average was 21, compared to a national average of 21.7 for core course completers and 18.2 for Alabama students who were not core course completers.
Since 1990, Alabama students' scores on the Enhanced ACT have been stagnant, with students typically scoring about 0.8 of a point below the national average.
Males test takers in Alabama in 2013 had higher average composite (20.6), math (20.0), and science (20.7) scores than females (20.3, 19.1, and 19.7, respectively). In the categories of English and reading, females scored better (20.7 and 21.0) than males (20.3 and 20.9).
Ethnicity is a significant predictor of ACT scores in Alabama.
For reading, the highest were:
By comparison, the lowest were:
A similar relationship was found for math.
Highest:
Lowest:
The National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) was mandated by Congress in 1969 to monitor the knowledge, skills, and performance of the nation's school children.
One form of monitoring has been national, standardized tests in:
In 2013, every state and the District of Columbia participated in the mathematics and reading exams.
NAEP uses a scale of 0 to 500 for his mathematics and reading tests.
In 2013, Alabama's 4th grade math students ranked 46th in the nation with an average score of 233, eight points below the national average. Twenty-nine percent of Alabama's 4th graders scored at or above proficiency, 13 points below the national average.
In the same year, Alabama's 8th grade math students ranked 50th in the nation with an average NAEP score of 269, with 19% at or above proficiency. By comparison, the national average was 284, with 34% at or above proficiency.
In 2013, Alabama's 4th grade students ranked 35th in the nation in reading with an average score of 219, two points lower than the national average. Thirty percent of Alabama's students scored at or above proficiency, compared to 34% of students nationwide.
During the same year, Alabama's 8th grade students ranked 47th in the nation in reading with an average score of 257, nine points below the national average. Twenty-five percent of Alabama's students scored at or above proficiency, compared to 35% of students nationwide.
In the 2013-14 school year, public schools in Alabama spent an average of $8,841 per student. This is a 2% decrease from the inflation-adjusted amount spent in 2012-2013 ($8,988). By comparison, national spending per student increased 2% from $11,170 to $11,373.
Despite occasional proration and income shortfalls, Alabama's public elementary and secondary schools have received a large increase in revenue in the past 50 years.
Since 1970, inflation-adjusted spending per student in Alabama has increased 182%, compared to 147% for the nation as a whole.
In the 1969-70 school year, Alabama's per-student outlays for K-12 public education ($3,139 in inflation-adjusted dollars) were 31% less than the national average ($4,605). By the 2013-14 school year, the gap had narrowed to 22%.
In the 2010-11 school year, 37.8% of funding for all public education in Alabama came from state and local government expenditures. By comparison, the national average was 33.3%.
Southern Torch will give you Cultural Indicators: Family from the Alabama Policy Institute tomorrow.
Academic Achievement
ACT Scores
NAEP Scores
K-12 Spending Per Pupil
Alabama's Cultural Indicators: Education
