State Rep. Terri Collins (R-Decatur) praised the hard work of students and teachers for improving Alabama students' reading skills.

“I think we've made great strides in reading over the last five years,” Collins told WVNN on Tuesday. “I think we've seen progress since 2019 that we've never seen before, and I'm really proud of that progress. Our teachers, our literacy specialists, our district specialists have worked really hard. I've seen them, and nobody is more excited than they are.”

The Alabama Department of Education result The 2023-2024 Alabama Comprehensive Assessment Program shows that 91% of third graders statewide are reading at or above grade level, an 8% increase compared to last year’s results.

Collins, who chairs the Alabama House Education Policy Committee, believes the test scores reflect the success of the Alabama Literacy Act that he proposed and passed in 2019.

“I believe students are improving in reading. I really do,” she asserted. “I see the evidence of that, and you're going to start seeing the evidence of that. Are students really doing better in other subjects? Because when they move up from third grade, they know how to read. And I think that's what we're going to see. That's what I wanted for 2019, and I believe that's what we're seeing now.”

The bill provides funding for teacher training and reading coaches to ensure students learn to read and write, and would allow students who are not able to read and write at grade level by the end of third grade to repeat the year.

“I always say that if you push a kid into third grade when you know he can't read, you're failing him,” she says, “because you're expecting something from him that he'll never be able to do.”

Collins stressed that he believes the implementation of the law will continue to improve test scores across the Yellow Hammer State.

“I think we've been providing specialized training across the state for six years now to teach the science of reading,” she explained, “and it's made a difference. So I think it's the way they're teaching that's making a difference. I think the deadline really helped.”

Yaffe is a contributing writer for Yellow Hammer News and hosts “The Yaffe Program” weekdays from 9-11 a.m. WhistlerYou can follow him on X @Yaffe