BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Alabama education officials are seeking public comment on a proposal to change how high schools are graded under federal law – a move that would add a workforce-readiness assessment alongside the ACT in the state’s accountability system.
The Alabama State Department of Education has posted a draft waiver request to the U.S. Department of Education seeking approval to add the ACT WorkKeys National Career Readiness Certificate assessment to its high school accountability measures required under the Every Student Succeeds Act.
Under the proposal, high school juniors would take both the ACT and the WorkKeys assessment beginning in the 2026-27 school year.
The department is also proposing to use students’ overall ACT composite score instead of separate English language arts and math scores in its federal calculations.
Alabama has used the ACT as its high school accountability test since 2015. All public high school juniors must take the exam, and the results are used to calculate federal report card grades.
The proposed changes reflect a broader debate among state education leaders about whether a single college entrance exam accurately measures postsecondary readiness in districts where many students enter the workforce.
In the draft document, the department says the changes are intended “to align high school student performance with workforce preparedness.”
The WorkKeys assessment, which seniors currently may take but are not required to, measures applied math, graphic literacy and workplace documents – skills designed to reflect readiness for employment rather than college coursework. The WorkKeys exam is also used by employers to identify skilled workers.
Education officials argue that relying solely on a college entrance exam does not fully capture the readiness of students who plan to enter the workforce directly after graduation. The proposal cites national data showing that more than one-third of students who met career-readiness standards on WorkKeys did not meet ACT college-readiness benchmarks.
That mismatch, the proposal states, “not only masks students’ strengths from the public by painting an incomplete picture of students’ readiness for post-secondary success, but also wrongs these students and their families by labeling them as ‘not ready’ when they are in fact prepared for success, even if that success may not lie in heading directly to a 4-year college or university.”
College-going rates vary widely across Alabama districts. In some rural districts, fewer than one-third of graduates enroll in a two- or four-year college. In Jefferson County’s 12 separate school systems, rates range from about 35% in Bessemer City to 97% in Mountain Brook, according to data from the Alabama Commission on Higher Education.
A statewide task force formed in 2024 studied possible changes to high school accountability measures. Led by Jasper Superintendent Ann Jackson, the group presented several options to the state board in September and ultimately recommended adding the WorkKeys assessment and administering it during students’ junior year.
Task force members told the board that some students who score poorly on the ACT earn high levels – silver, gold or platinum – on the WorkKeys exam.
Alabama has included college- and career-readiness indicators in its high school report card calculations since report cards were first published in 2018.
Beginning with this year’s graduating class, however, earning one of those indicators became a requirement for graduation. A qualifying WorkKeys score can satisfy that requirement.
The proposal applies to Alabama’s federal accountability system. The state’s separate report card measures would not automatically change.
The proposed testing changes are part of a broader request for flexibility under federal law. The draft waiver includes eight requests, including changes to how districts may use certain federal funds and adjustments to requirements for paraprofessionals.
Any revisions to the federal accountability system must be approved by the U.S. Department of Education. State Superintendent Eric Mackey has said the review process could take six to eight months.
The department is accepting public comment on the proposed waiver through March 10. The draft request is posted on the Alabama State Department of Education’s website.
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