In this thought-provoking episode of SEEd & Growth, we uncover the quietly dangerous shift happening in Alabama’s education system—one that’s reshaping how we talk about student reading achievement, and ultimately, how we understand learning itself.

Titled Sufficient Deception, this episode exposes how language is being weaponized to mask the persistent literacy crisis among young learners. Alabama’s new terminology, replacing clear academic benchmarks with vague, feel-good phrases like “sufficient progress,” risks misleading parents, educators, and communities about students’ true reading proficiency.

We explore the historical roots of such rhetorical shifts, connecting them to broader national patterns where policy makers reframe failure as acceptable progress.  Sufficient Deception raises urgent questions: Who benefits from redefining literacy standards? What happens when truth is replaced with technicalities? And how does this linguistic sleight of hand impact the most vulnerable students—particularly those from historically underserved communities?

More than just critique, this episode calls for clarity, courage, and a recommitment to transparent language in education. Because when we change the words, we change the expectations—and when we lower the expectations, we fail the future.