Overview
- The Arkansas Department of Education released 2025–26 A–F grades on Thursday showing more districts with As and Bs and fewer with Ds and Fs compared with last year.
- State counts show 26 districts earned As, 114 earned Bs, 88 earned Cs, 17 earned Ds and 9 earned Fs out of 254 districts under the new ratings.
- The grades are calculated from the ATLAS test and weigh student achievement, individualized growth targets and high-school graduation and readiness measures.
- Education officials credited the LEARNS Act and targeted supports for D and F schools, saying every low-rated school got a literacy coach and access to high-impact tutoring, while some districts such as North Little Rock moved from an F to a C and Pulaski rose from a D to a C.
- Critics and teachers’ leaders say the A–F test-centered system is incomplete, point to about 80 schools that lost ground and note private schools using voucher funds are not subject to the same public grading or reporting rules.