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Alabama has achieved what many thought impossible: climbing from dead last to the middle of the pack in national math rankings. The state, which historically jockeyed with Mississippi for 52nd place on NAEP assessments, now ranks 32nd — a dramatic improvement driven in part by the Alabama Math, Science and Technology Initiative (AMSTI).
"We are in the middle of the pack," says Rachel Broadhead, who works with the statewide initiative. "That's a big deal for a state that's been at the bottom for as long as anyone can remember."
AMSTI operates on what Rachel describes as a "three-legged stool" approach: professional learning opportunities, physical resources, and job-embedded on-site support. The initiative benefits from regional hubs that place staff closer to classrooms than most statewide programs can achieve.
AMSTI recently extended its partnership with BW Walch to continue scaling the implementation of the Ongoing Assessment Project (OGAP) professional learning program statewide.
Through AMSTI, thousands of Alabama teachers have already been trained in OGAP’s systematic, research-based frameworks—helping them identify student misconceptions early and respond with targeted instruction.
“This partnership with AMSTI has demonstrated what’s possible when teachers are empowered with evidence-based professional learning that deepens their understanding of how students learn math,” said Al Noyes, CEO of BW Walch. “OGAP enables educators to look beyond right or wrong answers—to see inside students’ reasoning, address misconceptions, and help every learner build lasting mathematical understanding.”
The multi-year extension will expand professional learning opportunities, deepen district-level support, and introduce new online tools to strengthen ongoing coaching and collaboration.
This snippet of the conversation features advice to district administrators about making time for PD.
