Tuscaloosa County School System Earns Record Marks On State Report Card

TUSCALOOSA, AL — The Tuscaloosa County School System (TCSS) announced Thursday that it earned its highest score in district history on the 2026 Alabama State Education Report Card.

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TCSS says the district received an overall score of 85 (B), a one-point increase from last year's 84 and a six-point improvement over the past three years.

According to the county school sytem, the latest score is the highest the district has received since Alabama introduced its state education report cards a decade ago.

School system leaders pointed to half of the district's schools improving their individual scores compared to last year, while school officials said progress was also evident in several other measures of student achievement.

Among the district's highlights was a systemwide graduation rate of 91.4%, reflecting the percentage of students in the Class of 2025 who graduated within four years of entering high school.

TCSS also reported a significant reduction in chronic absenteeism, which fell to 9.5% from 11.8% last year and 15% the previous year.

Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing 18 or more school days during an academic year, regardless of whether the absences are excused or unexcused.

District officials said the latest figures represent a return to pre-COVID absenteeism levels and reflect ongoing efforts by schools to improve student attendance.

The Alabama State Education Report Card evaluates school systems using several accountability measures, including academic achievement, academic growth, English language proficiency and chronic absenteeism.

High schools are also evaluated on college and career readiness and graduation rates.

Most measures on the 2026 report card reflect performance during the 2025-26 academic year, while graduation rates and college and career readiness data are drawn from the 2024-25 school year.

As Patch previously reported, the latest results come as neighboring Tuscaloosa City Schools also celebrated a record performance, earning an 88 (B), up two points from last year.

Individual school scores and additional information are available through the Alabama State Department of Education's report card website.

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