Historical public education information in Alabama, 2011-2014

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Education policy in the U.S.

Public education in the U.S.

School choice in the U.S.

Charter schools in the U.S.

Higher education in the U.S.

Glossary of education terms

Education statistics

This page contains archived information on Alabama's public education system, primarily from 2011-2012, but also from other years due to the availability of data at the time it was written. For more recent information, view Alabama's public education page.

The Alabama public school system (prekindergarten through grade 12) operates within districts governed by locally elected school boards and superintendents. In 2012 Alabama had 744,621 students enrolled in a total of 1,618 schools in 170 school districts. There were 47,723 teachers in the public schools, or roughly one teacher for every 16 students, which is on par with the national average of 1:16. There was roughly one administrator for every 294 students, which was also on par with the national average of one administrator for every 295 students. On average Alabama spent $8,813 per pupil in 2011, which ranked it 40th highest in the nation. The state's high school graduation rate was 75 percent in 2012.

State agencies

See also: Alabama Department of Education

The Alabama Department of Education is the state education agency of Alabama.

The State Board of Education is composed of nine board members. The Governor serves as President (and ex officio member) and the eight remaining members are elected.

As of 2012, the mission statement of the Alabama State Board of Education read:

“	To provide a state system of education which is committed to academic excellence and which provides education of the highest quality to all Alabama students, preparing them for the 21st century.	”

Regional comparison

See also: General comparison table for education statistics in the 50 states and Education spending per pupil in all 50 states

The following chart shows how Alabama compared to three neighboring states with respect to number of students, schools, the number of teachers per pupil, and the number of administrators per pupil in the 2011-2012 school year. Further comparisons between these states with respect to performance and financial information are given in other sections of this page.

Regional comparison
State	Schools	Districts	Students	Teachers	Teacher/pupil ratio	Administrator/pupil ratio	Per pupil spending
Alabama	1,618	170	744,621	47,723	1:15.6	1:293.5	$8,813
Tennessee	1,802	140	999,693	66,382	1:15.1	1:293.2	$8,242
Georgia	2,388	216	1,685,016	111,133	1:15.2	1:274.9	$9,253
Mississippi	1,069	163	490,619	32,007	1:15.3	1:251	$7,928
United States	98,328	17,992	49,521,669	3,103,263	1:16	1:295.2	$10,994
Sources: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD), "State Nonfiscal Public Elementary/Secondary Education Survey", 2011-12 v.1a. National Center for Education Statistics, Table 2. Number of operating public schools and districts, state enrollment, teacher and pupil/teacher ratio by state: School year 2011–12 U.S. Census Bureau, "Public Education Finances: 2011,Governments Division Reports," issued May 2013

Demographics

See also: Demographic information for all students in all 50 states

The following table displays the ethnic distribution of students in Alabama as reported in the Common Core of Data for 2011-2012.

Demographic information for Alabama's K-12 public school system compared with surrounding states
State	American Indian/Alaska Native	Asian/Pacific Islander	Black	Hispanic	White	Hawaiian Nat./Pacific Isl	Other
Alabama	0.83%	1.34%	34.18%	4.66%	58.11%	0.04%	0.84%
Tennessee	0.19%	1.66%	23.34%	6.63%	67.08%	0.1%	1%
Georgia	0.22%	3.39%	37.01%	12.18%	44.11%	0.11%	2.98%
Mississippi	0.2%	0.95%	49.62%	2.57%	46.01%	0.03%	0.62%
United States	1.1%	4.68%	15.68%	24.37%	51.21%	0.42%	2.54%
Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD), "State Nonfiscal Public Elementary/Secondary Education Survey", 2011-12 v.1a. accessed May 15, 2014

Enrollments by region type

See also: Student distribution by region type in the United States

During the 2011-2012 school year a plurality of students in Alabama attended rural schools. More than 62 percent of the state's students attended rural or town schools, compared to approximately 38 percent who attended city or suburban schools.

Student distribution by region type, 2011 - 2012 (as percents)
State	City schools	Suburban schools	Town schools	Rural schools
Alabama	20.6%	16.9%	14.4%	48%
Tennessee	29.8%	16.1%	14%	40.2%
Georgia	14%	38%	9.9%	38%
Mississippi	10%	8.9%	28.9%	52.2%
U.S. average	28.9%	34%	11.6%	25.4%
Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD)

Academic performance

Education terms
For more information on education policy terms, see this article.
School board elections portal Glossary of education terms School choice on the ballot Education on the ballot

NAEP scores

See also: NAEP scores by state for a full comparison of all states

The National Center for Education Statistics provides state-by-state data on student achievement levels in mathematics and reading in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Compared to three neighboring states (Tennessee, Georgia, and Mississippi), Alabama's eighth grade students fared the worst in mathematics, with only 20 percent scoring at or above proficient, according to the NAEP. See the table and chart below for a full comparison.

Percent of students scoring at or above proficient, 2012-2013
	Math - Grade 4	Math - Grade 8	Reading - Grade 4	Reading - Grade 8
Alabama	30%	20%	31%	25%
Tennessee	40%	28%	34%	33%
Georgia	39%	29%	34%	32%
Mississippi	26%	21%	21%	20%
U.S. average	41%	34%	34%	34%
Source: United States Department of Education, ED Data Express, "State Tables," accessed May 13, 2014

Graduation rate and ACT/SAT scores

See also: Graduation rates by groups in state and ACT and SAT scores in the United States

The following table shows the graduation rates and average composite ACT for 2012 and SAT scores for 2013 in Alabama and surrounding states during the 2012-2013 school year. All statements made in this section refer to that school year.

Comparison table for graduation rates and test scores*
State	Graduation rate, 2012		Average ACT composite, 2012		Average SAT composite, 2013
	Percent	Quintile ranking**	Score	Participation rate	Score	Participation rate
Alabama	75%	Fourth	20.3	86%	1,608	7%
Tennessee	87%	First	19.7	100%	1,709	8%
Georgia	70%	Fifth	20.7	52%	1,452	75%
Mississippi	75%	Fourth	18.7	100%	1,673	3%
U.S. average	80%		21.1		1,498
*Regulatory Adjusted Cohort Rate (except for Idaho, Kentucky, Oklahoma, which did not report “Regulatory Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate,” but instead used their own method of calculation). **Graduation rates for states in the first quintile ranked in the top 20 percent nationally. Similarly, graduation rates for states in the fifth quintile ranked in the bottom 20 percent nationally. Source: United States Department of Education, ED Data Express

Dropout rate

See also: Public high school dropout rates by state for a full comparison of dropout rates by group in all states

The high school event dropout rate indicates the proportion of students who were enrolled at some time during the school year and were expected to be enrolled in grades 9–12 in the following school year but were not enrolled by October 1 of the following school year. Students who have graduated, transferred to another school, died, moved to another country, or who are out of school due to illness are not considered dropouts. The average public high school event dropout rate for the United States remained constant at 3.3 percent for both school year 2010–2011 and school year 2011–2012. The event dropout rate for Alabama was lower than the national average at 1.4 percent in the 2010-2011 school year, and 1.4 percent in the 2011-2012 school year.

Educational choice options

See also: School choice in Alabama

As of June 2015, school choice options in Alabama included: tax credits and online learning opportunities. The state also enacted charter school legislation in March 2015. In addition, about 9.87 percent of school-age children in the state attended private schools in the 2011-12 academic year, and an estimated 2.67 percent were homeschooled in 2012-13.

Developments

2013

On March 14, 2013, Governor Robert Bentley signed into law the Alabama Accountability Act. The bill gave tax credits to parents who wish to transfer their children from a failing public school district to another public or private school. The state legislature, which was controlled by Republicans, passed the bill on February 28, 2014. After signing the bill, Bentley said, "For the first time ever, we're giving all public schools the flexibility they need to better serve their students."

Democrats and teacher advocacy groups contended that the bill as passed had undergone significant alterations when it went to a conference committee, "transforming it from a measure allowing flexibility to school districts into a school choice bill." Political reporter Kyle Whitmire, from The Birmingham News, said that some were concerned the legislation could result in a "brain drain, that sort of concentrates your most challenged students in school systems that are already having problems. This could really create problems on both sides, for successful school systems that suddenly might be flooded with students and with failing school systems that already have problems."

2014

On April 2, 2014, Alabama enacted Senate Bill 38, which expressly recognized home instruction by someone other than a state-certified private tutor as an option for complying with the compulsory attendance requirements and redefined a church school to include either on-site or home programs. The legislation also prevented state higher education institutions from discriminating against home-schooled applicants, and stated that nonpublic schools are not subject to licensure or regulation by the state or any of its political subdivisions, including the Alabama Department of Education.

Education funding and expenditures

See also: Alabama state budget and finances

Breakdown of expenditures by function in fiscal year 2012
Source: National Association of State Budget Officers

According to the National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO), Alabama spent approximately 21 percent of its fiscal year 2012 budget on elementary and secondary education. As a share of the budget, this was up 7.2 percentage points, or 52.5 percent, from fiscal year 2008, when the state spent just under 14 percent of its budget on elementary and secondary education.

Comparison of financial figures for school systems
State	Percent of budget (2012)	Per pupil spending (2011)	Revenue sources (2011)
			Percent federal funds	Percent state funds	Percent local funds
Alabama	20.9%	$8,813	14.6%	53.77%	31.63%
Tennessee	17.7%	$8,242	14.72%	45.75%	39.53%
Georgia	24%	$9,253	12.57%	41.58%	45.85%
Mississippi	16.9%	$7,928	22.33%	45.95%	31.72%
Sources: NASBO, "State Expenditure Report," Table 8: Elementary and Secondary Education Expenditures As a Percent of Total Expenditures U.S. Census Bureau, "Public Education Finances: 2011,Governments Division Reports," issued May 2013

Revenue breakdowns

See also: Public school system revenues in the U.S. to compare all states.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, public school system revenues totaled approximately $7.4 billion in fiscal year 2011. The table below presents further detail, including revenue sources, for Alabama and surrounding states.

Revenues by source, fiscal year 2011 (amounts in thousands)
	Federal revenue	State revenue	Local revenue	Total revenue
Alabama	$1,077,070	$3,965,614	$2,332,472	$7,375,156
Tennessee	$1,272,825	$3,955,476	$3,417,293	$8,645,594
Georgia	$2,267,612	$7,499,327	$8,268,366	$18,035,305
Mississippi	$1,006,465	$2,071,467	$1,429,770	$4,507,702
U.S. total	$74,943,767	$267,762,416	$264,550,594	$607,256,777
Source: National Center for Education Statistics

Expenditure breakdowns

See also: Public school system expenditures in the United States

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, public school system expenditures totaled approximately $7.4 billion in fiscal year 2011. The table below presents further detail, including expenditure types, for Alabama and surrounding states.

Expenditures by type, fiscal year 2011 (amounts in thousands)
	General expenditures	Capital outlay	Other	Total expenditures
Alabama	$6,582,496	$564,183	$255,905	$7,402,584
Tennessee	$7,977,696	$661,195	$295,742	$8,934,633
Georgia	$15,465,308	$1,368,403	$291,801	$17,125,512
Mississippi	$3,888,831	$368,906	$88,046	$4,345,783
U.S. total	$520,577,893	$52,984,139	$29,581,293	$603,143,325
**Funds spent operating local public schools and local education agencies, including such expenses as salaries for school personnel, student transportation, school books and materials, and energy costs, but excluding capital outlay, interest on school debt, payments to private schools, and payments to public charter schools. ***Includes payments to state and local governments, payments to private schools, interest on school system indebtedness, and nonelementary-secondary expenditures, such as adult education and community services expenditures. Source: National Center for Education Statistics

Personnel salaries

See also: Public school teacher salaries in the United States

Note: Salaries given are averages for the state. Salaries may vary between a state's urban, suburban, and rural districts and should be adjusted for cost of living. For example, a MacIver Institute study of average teacher salaries in 60 metropolitan areas found that salaries in New York City were the third-highest in absolute figures but 59th-highest when adjusted for the cost of living.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the average national salary for classroom teachers in public elementary and secondary schools declined by 1.3 percent from the 1999-2000 school year to the 2012-2013 school year. During the same period in Alabama, the average salary declined by 4.4 percent.

Estimated average salaries for teachers (in constant dollars**)
	1999-2000	2009-2010	2011-2012	2012-2013	Percent difference
Alabama	$50,139	$50,779	$48,802	$47,949	-4.4%
Tennessee	$49,645	$49,412	$47,866	$48,289	-2.7%
Georgia	$56,062	$56,694	$53,819	$52,880	-5.7%
Mississippi	$43,535	$48,722	$42,339	$41,994	-3.5%
U.S. average	$57,133	$58,925	$56,340	$56,383	-1.3%
**"Constant dollars based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI), prepared by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, adjusted to a school-year basis. The CPI does not account for differences in inflation rates from state to state."

The following table details the fiscal year 2014 salary schedule for classroom teachers in Alabama. Salaries listed are the minimums for each pay grade and experience bracket.

Minimum salary schedule, fiscal year 2014
	Bachelor's degree	Master's degree	6-year degree	Doctoral degree	Non-degree
Less than 3 years	$36,867	$42,395	$45,714	$49,032	$36,867
3 - 6	$40,551	$46,634	$50,283	$53,935	$40,551
6 - 9	$42,327	$48,675	$52,499	$56,295	$42,327
9 - 12	$42,894	$49,329	$53,191	$57,051	$42,894
12 - 15	$43,674	$50,223	$54,155	$58,088	$43,674
15 - 18	$44,670	$51,371	$55,391	$59,409	$44,670
18 - 21	$45,247	$52,032	$56,105	$60,179	$45,247
21 - 24	$45,825	$52,699	$56,822	$60,947	$45,825
24 - 27	$46,370	$53,245	$57,370	$61,494	$46,370
More than 27	$46,917	$53,792	$57,916	$62,040	$46,917

Organizations

Unions

In 2012 the Fordham Institute and Education Reform Now assessed the power and influence of state teacher unions in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Their rankings were based on 37 different variables in five broad areas, including: resources and membership, involvement in politics, scope of bargaining, state policies and perceived influence. Alabama ranked 20th overall, or "strong," which was in the second of five tiers.

The main union related to the Alabama public school system is the Alabama Education Association (AEA), an affiliate of the National Education Association (NEA). For the 2003 tax period AEA had: $16.0 million in total revenue, $16.2 million in total expenses and $18.1 million in total assets.

List of local Alabama school unions:

• Alabama Education Association
• Birmingham Education Association
• Montgomery County Education Association
• Jefferson County Education Association
• American Federation of Teachers (Birmingham)
• Lawrence County Education Association
• Talladega City Education Association

Government sector lobbying

See also: Alabama government sector lobbying

The main education government sector lobbying organization is the Alabama School Boards Association.

Transparency

Alabama Policy Institute (API), a nonprofit organization, conducts research on education and transparency throughout the state. In 2007 the group published a piece called, "Alabama's Public Education Funding Dilemma: Does Funding Influence Outcomes?" The article focused on drawing a connection between state funding and education progress. The article analyzed dropout rates, readiness for the workforce and/or college and academic proficiency.

On February 11, 2009, Governor Bob Riley signed an Executive Order to create a state spending database. The order mandated that the site, to be operated by the state Department of Finance, be operational by March 1, 2009. The site can be accessed here.

Studies and reports

State Budget Solutions study

State Budget Solutions examined national trends in education from 2009 to 2011, including state-by-state analysis of education spending, graduation rates, and average ACT scores. The study showed that states that spent the most did not have the highest average ACT test scores, nor did they have the highest average graduation rates. A summary of the study is available here. The full report can be accessed here.

See also

• Public education in Alabama
• Alabama
• Education Policy in the U.S.