All three school districts in Baldwin County recorded improvement in ACAP test scores, with the countywide district and Orange Beach seeing increases in all three subject areas.

The scores, which were released by the Alabama Department of Education Aug. 12 and analyzed by AL.com's Education Lab, represent the Alabama Comprehensive Assessment Program, given to students in math and English language arts in grades 2-8 and in science in grades 4, 6 and 8. Out of four levels, students scoring at level 3 and 4 are deemed "proficient."

Baldwin County Public Schools saw growth in each subject area from last year, seeing the largest increase in ELA (3.2 percentage points).

The district is putting an emphasis on increasing individualization for students' learning, where students are given extra help when needed or given the opportunity to continue excelling so higher-achieving students are not waiting on classmates to catch up.

"The science of reading is proven," said Renee Carter, who retired at the end of the summer from her role as assistant superintendent, elementary, referring to the LETRS program the district has employed to teach readers how to teach for literacy.

There are 770 teachers who signed up for the two-year training program.

"People say the phrase 'it isn't rocket science,' but this is rocket science," said Becky Turner, elementary curriculum coordinator and interim assistant superintendent, elementary. "It's changing how they're teaching."

BCPS's 2024 scores reached 62.5% proficiency for ELA, compared to 59.3% in 2023. Joe Sharp, assistant superintendent, secondary, said this marks the best ELA score for a county school system this year.

Every third-grader at Elsanor School and Rosinton Elementary, both in Robertsdale, passed the reading subtest.

In math, 38.6% reached proficiency compared to 37.8% last year, and 51.1% did so in science compared to 50.8% in 2023.

Schools have incorporated 25-30-minute "intervention periods" where teachers can work with individual students on specific skills and subject areas throughout the day, Sharp said.

Another aspect of these scores is the ACT, which is given to 11th graders. Scores are factored into overall proficiency levels. Tom Hartner, secondary coordinator for BCPS, said the district hasn't seen ACT scores this high since 2013-14.

The district has focused more on promoting free ACT prep courses. Around 800 students give part of their summer to studying for the test, including middle school students.

Orange Beach City Schools' ACAP scores ranked third in the state in math and science and seventh in ELA.

With the highest scores in Baldwin County, the city district's ELA score jumped 7.3 percentage points to 76% proficient for 2024, 4.4 percentage points to 65.2% in math and 16.3 percentage points in science to 71.8% proficient.

Superintendent Randy Wilkes said in a news release that the district's strategic plan challenges each grade level to achieve a minimum of 80% proficiency in every test subject over the next five years.

"While only one group hit that mark in the first year, seven groups smashed through it this past year," he wrote.

Orange Beach also saw every third grader pass the reading subtest.

"Sufficiency and proficiency are two terms that can be easily misunderstood," Wilkes said. "Sufficiency is described as 'grade level.' Orange Beach City Schools leads the state in third grade reading sufficiency. We have 100% of students reading on grade level. Proficiency relates to a higher functioning level, one that formerly was reflective of the potential to earn a B or better on college entrance courses. The goal of the district is to achieve 80% proficiency in every subject tested in every grade level."

Gulf Shores City Schools saw improvement in one overall subject and less than 1 percentage point shift downward in two. Superintendent Matt Akin said all broken down areas increased but one. While middle school ELA performance went down, Akin said they are focusing heavily on improving middle school math and elementary school reading, especially in a district where elementary school enrollment has increased by 30% since opening five years ago.

The elementary school's STEAM Wing allows students to get individualized mentoring with part-time instructors, all of whom are certified teachers, based on their grade level, not necessarily just the grade they are in.

Gulf Shores' ELA score is at 67.2% for 2024, with math at 47.7% and science at 55.8%. All three districts' overall scores are well above the state average.