DOTHAN, Ala. (WTVY) – The Alabama State Department of Education released its annual report card for the 2023-2024 school year.

This report breaks down the overall academic success of the state.

Overall the state scored an 85, up two points from last school year. The ALSDE said, however, that academic achievement is low, scoring a D. Academic growth earned a 97. The state’s graduation rate scored an A. English language proficiency scored a 41.

College and Career Readiness for the state received an 84 B. The full report card for the state can be viewed here.

The report also provides scores for individual schools and school systems.

The Coffee County School System scored a 90 overall, improving by one point from last school year.

Kinston saw a drop in chronic absenteeism from 8.44 to 6.62. New Brockton Elementary raised its overall grade from an 87 to a 90. New Brockton Middle School also saw a big drop in absenteeism this school year, going from 13 to 6.86. New Brockton High School also raised its score by three points, moving from an 80 to 83. A full breakdown of all Coffee County Schools is below:

The Enterprise City School System scored an 89 overall, keeping the same score as last school year.

Enterprise High School scored a 79, dropping from its 82 last year. Dauphin Jr. High raised its score by four points to 94. Pinedale Elementary’s overall score stayed the same but there was a three-point increase in academic achievement. The full breakdown of Enterprise City Schools scores is below:

Houston County School System raised its score by two points, going from an 87 to an 89. Ashford Elementary saw a large drop in absenteeism from 13 to 1.02. Wicksburg High School upped its graduation rate by 9 points. Cottonwood Elementary saw a jump in academic achievement from 75 to 80. A full breakdown of Houston County Schools scores is below:

Dothan City Schools overall scored a 79. So did Carver 9th Grade Academy. Dothan High School raised its score by 7 points to 78 and saw a drop in absenteeism. Highlands Elementary scored a 91 in academic growth. Dothan Prep saw an increase in English language proficiency, going from a 19 to 34. A full breakdown of all schools in the Dothan City School System is below:

Elba City Schools scored an 81 B overall. For the full report card, click here.

Overall, Dale County scored a 90, raising its score from 88 last year. For the full report card, click here.

Daleville City Schools raised its score three points from 74 to 77. For the full report card, click here.

Ozark City Schools scored an 83 overall. For the full report card, click here.

Geneva County Schools raised its overall score from a 91 to a 93. For the full report card, click here.

Geneva City Schools scored a 93 overall. For the full report card, click here.

Henry County Schools scored an 89 overall. View the full report card here.

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Oklahoma is going to have its hands full on Saturday night. 

The Sooners will welcome Alabama to Norman for just the second time ever, and it’s only the seventh all-time meeting between the two college football powers. 

The No. 7-ranked Crimson Tide (8-2, 4-2 SEC) are looking to continue their march toward the College Football Playoff while OU (5-5, 1-5) is just trying to honor its seniors in the home finale by getting bowl eligible. 

Kalen DeBoer has kept Alabama’s offense firing as one of the nation’s best, presenting a tough test for the Sooners. 

The Crimson Tide offense can hurt defenses in a hurry. 

Quarterback Jalen Milroe has forged a lethal connection with freshman wide receiver Ryan Williams, and he can also do damage with his legs. 

Slowing down Alabama play-after-play is hard enough, but make one mistake and DeBoer’s offense can make defenses pay. 

The Crimson Tide have scored 53 touchdowns on offense this year, and 23 of those have from from 20-plus yards out. 

It’s not just been ‘Bama beating defenses over the top, either. Of the 23 chunk plays that have scored, 12 have been passes and 11 runs. 

OU’s rushing defense has held up Ewell this year, as the Sooners rank 18th in the country in rushing yards allowed per game, but the Sooners have struggled with letting receivers hurt them deep in SEC-play this year, which will be a concern come Saturday. 

Nick Saban may be gone, but Alabama’s defense is still turning opponents over at a high rate. 

The Crimson Tide have forced 24 turnovers this year, recovering 10 fumbles and picking off quarterbacks 14 times. 

That’s an area of concern for Oklahoma, who has been allergic to ball security. 

In OU’s last outing alone against Missouri, the Sooners put the ball on the ground six times, losing four of those fumbles. 

Quarterback Jackson Arnold was responsible for two of the lost fumbles by himself, the last of which was returned for a touchdown and untimely did OU in. 

If the Sooners are to have any shot of pulling the unlikely upset on Saturday, they’ll have to take care of the football — something that hasn’t happened since the win over Auburn in September. 

While the Alabama defense has been opportunistic, it hasn’t quite been the dominant unit of the Saban Era. 

Opponents have rushed for 132.2 yards per game against the Tide, which ranks 53rd in the country. 

While OU’s offense has struggled this year, there have been glimpses of a rushing attack that can keep the Sooners in SEC games, especially against Ole Miss and Missouri.

Jovantae Barnes’ availability is up in the air, but true freshman Xavier Robinson looked like a difference maker at running back late against Missouri. 

Oklahoma’s path to victory includes winning the turnover battle and having success on the ground to shorten the game, something Vanderbilt was especially good at in its upset victory over ‘Bama earlier this year. 

The Crimson Tide are 18th in the country in third down defense, allowing conversions 31.5 percent of the time, so staying ahead of the chains by having success on the ground will be crucial for Oklahoma’s offense to stay on track.

This is an opinion cartoon.

“In the three weeks since Pickens County dropped down to one ambulance, two women died after waiting an hour for paramedics to arrive.”

That’s the first line of Savannah Tryens-Fernandes’ report on Alabama’s ‘ambulance desert.’

It’s an enlightening report. Read all of it here.

Let’s cut to the chase: Many of Alabama’s rural healthcare issues could be fixed with one stroke of the pen by Gov. Ivey. Expand Medicaid. To include the working poor people of Alabama. Rural Alabama. The places that need at least one more ambulance. Or one more doctor. To save a life. Or two.

Medicaid expansion is frowned upon by Ivey because it’s an Obamacare thing. And because it works. Why not just embrace it and call it yours? That’s how politics works, right?

So, let’s do this: Call it IveyCare. Or TrumpsterCare. What Alabama has now is WeDon’tCare. Maybe we just need NobodyCares.

Medicaid expansion would help cure a lot of ills in this defiant state. If nobody cared who got the credit.

The ‘one ambulance’ problem in Pickens County is a mixed bag of Alabama dysfunction. Read on …

Excerpts from This Alabama county is now down to just one ambulance: ‘It costs lives’

“Pickens County moved to only one ambulance on Oct. 25. The reduction in ambulance service is just the latest in a downward spiral, as rural communities across Alabama watch emergency rooms and hospitals shutter, and as pediatricians, dentists and maternity care have disappeared in over a third of the state’s counties.

“Sullivan McCrory said her team of paramedics has had to triage callers ever since the move to one ambulance. She said it’s not unusual to get two to three calls all within an hour, forcing them to decide where to go based on which call is most life-threatening.

“All I know is people are suffering,” she told AL.com. “What can you do when you have one ambulance in a county with over 19,000 people in it?”

“In 2022, Alabama passed a law deeming emergency medical services and ambulances an essential service, saying “emergency medical services are an essential public service and a part of the health care safety net for many residents of this state.”

“Alabama is one of 37 states to pass such a law. But unlike most other states, Alabama does not require the state government to fund the service.

“U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell represents Pickens County in Washington. Her office said typically the only source of federal funding for those services comes from Medicare reimbursements. She has introduced two bills in the House since 2021 to increase rates for both ambulances and rural hospitals to help them stay operational. But neither bill has received a vote.

“Congresswoman Sewell and our whole team have spent years pushing for congressional action to address these ambulance shortages at the federal level,” said Christopher Kosteva, Sewell’s Communications Director, in a statement to AL.com. “This issue has been exacerbated by the state’s refusal to expand Medicaid, which has put an enormous strain on the resources of rural health care providers.”

“When asked by AL.com if any emergency support could be provided by the state to keep an ambulance running, a spokesperson for Gov. Kay Ivey’s office said “we continue monitoring and are aware of developments in Pickens County, but at this time, you may wish to reach out to local officials.”

Read the whole report right here: This Alabama county is now down to just one ambulance: ‘It costs lives’

True stories and stuff by JD Crowe

The mysterious ‘Bubble Guy’ of Fairhope and the art of bubble Zen – al.com

How I met Dr. Seuss

Robert Plant head-butted me. Thanks, David Coverdale

I was ZZ Top’s drummer for a night and got kidnapped by groupies

Check out more cartoons and stuff by JD Crowe

JD Crowe is the cartoonist for Alabama Media Group and AL.com. He won the RFK Human Rights Award for Editorial Cartoons in 2020. In 2018, he was awarded the Rex Babin Memorial Award for local and state cartoons by the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists. Follow JD on Facebook, Twitter @Crowejam and Instagram @JDCrowepix. Give him a holler @jdcrowe@al.com.