Ala. students struggle with reading

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) - State educators estimate that at least half of Alabama students struggle with reading.

Birmingham News analysis of the 2008-09 Alabama High School Graduation Exam shows that 130 public high schools either failed reading or were classified as "borderline" failing, based on
11th-graders' performance on the Alabama High School Graduation Exam. The analysis involved 367 high schools.

In the Birmingham area, 32 high schools failed or "borderline" failed the reading portion of the grad-uation exam.

City schools fared the worst in the state. Of seven high schools, five failed reading outright and another was borderline failing. The only high school to pass was Ramsay High, a magnet school.