Alabama Virtual Schools: From A to F on State Report Card

TL;DR: Alabama’s public virtual schools show wide gaps in overall grades, graduation and career readiness. The State’s current roster lists 18 schools, but the latest posted overall ratings cover 2024–25 and do not provide a grade for every school.

Alabama’s virtual public schools show a mixed record: rising scores in some districts, setbacks in others, and questions about how well students receive help.

A recent ABC 33/40 I-Team report found these overall State report card scores in part of their broadcast area:

Reported graduation rates were 82.05% in Birmingham, 88.64% in Jefferson County and 69.28% in St. Clair County. Notably, the overall scores and academic growth indicators are not percentages of students proficient on State tests.

“Virtual learning is not for everyone,” Birmingham Chief Academic Officer Dr. Pamela Williams told the station.

She cited parent involvement and trouble filling some teaching jobs. Jefferson County uses an outside teaching provider, with district staff overseeing instruction and student support. State Superintendent Dr. Eric Mackey said local boards remain responsible. St. Clair did not answer the station’s interview requests.

The debate also turns on what those results can fairly show.

In a guest opinion published on ALPolitics.com, Alabama Virtual Academy Executive Director Melanie Barkley argued that raw scores miss key facts about students entering online schools.

Barkley leads a tuition-free program of Eufaula City Schools. She wrote that families may seek virtual schooling after bullying, health problems, learning disabilities or struggles in a prior classroom.

Her case is for measuring progress from each child’s starting point. Students who arrive behind may make gains without yet reaching grade-level goals.

That is the view of a school leader defending her model, rather than an independent finding about what caused the three districts’ results. Still, Barkley also welcomed oversight and acknowledged that virtual school does not suit every family.

“Examine us, ask us hard questions, and hold us accountable,” she wrote.

The Alabama State Department of Education’s current virtual school roster lists 18 public virtual schools. Matching that roster against the latest posted State report card files shows 15 with letter grades. Six earned a D or F.

Please note: this is a count and grading of schools, not a measure of how many students passed or failed.

The roster appears on the Department’s 2026–27 virtual school page. The latest overall ratings listed on its school performance page cover 2024–25. The two records describe different school years, and thus may not reflect the most recent performance of the schools.

According to the department’s 2024–25 letter-grade file, the graded schools on the current roster received:

Marshall County Online School received an insufficient-data designation. Lawrence County Signature School and Legends Virtual Academy appear on the current roster but have no matching entries in the older grade file.

Among the graded schools, one earned an A, two earned Bs, six earned Cs, five earned Ds and one earned an F.

What the measures mean:

The State measures several outcomes, using different records and tests:

• Graduation: The share of a student cohort earning a diploma within four years of first entering ninth grade. The State calculates it from its cohort records.
• College and career readiness: The share of that four-year cohort meeting at least one approved readiness measure. The State uses its readiness records, which include test results and documented credentials or college credit. Examples include an ACT benchmark, a qualifying AP or IB score, college credit earned in high school, or an approved industry credential.
• Academic growth: Individual progress in English language arts and math, assessed through ACAP and ACT testing in the applicable grades. The State combines weighted growth categories into an indicator score. It is not a simple percentage of students on grade level.
• Proficiency: Whether students meet or exceed the State’s standards on a subject test. On ACAP, Levels 3 and 4 count as proficient. The State also uses ACT results for high school reporting. Proficiency differs from the weighted academic achievement score used in school grades.

These definitions come from the department’s report card business rules and Fall 2025 technical guide. The guide also notes a reporting lag: graduation and readiness figures in the 2024–25 report card use the 2023–24 cohort.

The State’s 2024–25 indicator file shows why an overall grade cannot tell the whole story.

Athens Renaissance reported both a 100% graduation rate and 100% college and career readiness. Madison County Virtual posted a 95.26% graduation rate and 92.67% readiness.

Other schools showed wider gaps. Dothan City Virtual graduated 98.15%, while its readiness rate was 51.85%. Birmingham reported 82.05% graduation and 43.59% readiness. Eufaula’s Alabama Virtual Academy posted 79.15% graduation and 52.51% readiness.

Houston County Virtual reported 89.04% graduation and 93.15% readiness, despite its C overall grade. Jefferson County Virtual recorded 88.64% graduation and 81.82% readiness.

St. Clair’s Virtual Academy had a 69.28% graduation rate and 56.21% readiness.

Growth adds another measure. Baldwin County Virtual earned an academic growth indicator score of 100, while Birmingham earned 84.13. Those scores are not percentages of students proficient on State tests.

The figures show that graduating, meeting readiness measures and making academic progress are distinct outcomes. None should stand alone as a school’s “success rate.”

The records also have definite limits. Missing figures do not mean zero, and the current roster cannot establish how schools without older results are performing today.

For Alabama families, the State data provide a way to compare options. However, the limitations of the available information should always be taken into account when considering virtual schooling as an option for any child. And, of course, there are frequently multiple factors involved in the decision to place a child in a virtual school.

Ultimately, parents should use the State report card as just one part of the decision-making process when selecting the best option for their child.

More information on Alabama’s virtual schools is available at https://instructional-services.alsde.edu/virtual-schools.