Alabama

Alabama’s guiding philosophy in education is illustrated through its motto, Every child. Every chance. Every day, which drives its strategic plan, Alabama Achieves. The educational goals and priorities for the 749,000 students served by the Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE) have been driven by State Legislation and the Board of Education under the leadership of Governor Kay Ivey and State Superintendent of Education Dr. Eric Mackey, who have been in their roles since 2017 and 2018, respectively. Governor Ivey established the goal of Alabama being among the top 30 states on the National Assessment of Educational Progress. The state has prioritized reading and math achievement through the passage of the Alabama Literacy Act in 2019, which is designed to ensure that students can read on grade level before moving to the fourth grade, and the Alabama Numeracy Act in 2022, which seeks to build the capacity of elementary educators around mathematics instruction. The state has also prioritized the role that effective principals and assistant principals play in improving student achievement through the passage of the Alabama Principal and Leadership Mentoring Act in 2023, which provides stipends to participating leaders who receive professional learning and mentoring.