Students filing into Little Rock Central High School are shown in this 2020 file photo. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Thomas Metthe)" width="800" height="533" />Students filing into Little Rock Central High School are shown in this 2020 file photo. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Thomas Metthe)" width="800" height="533" />
A total of 80 of Arkansas' 1,069 traditional and charter schools earned a state-applied letter grade of an "A" based largely on results from last spring's ACT Aspire exam given in grades three through 10.
Seventy-nine schools earned an "F" grade and 255 scored "Ds", according to data posted Wednesday on an Arkansas Division of Elementary and Secondary Education website.
The state agency reported that 72.4% of schools — 728 campuses — earned the same letter grade that the schools did in 2022.
Another 14.5% or 148 campuses earned a higher letter grade than they did in the previous year.
A total of 14.1% or 144 campuses earned a lower grade.
“The letter grades are of significant importance to families, as they serve as an easy-to-understand metric for how schools are performing,” Arkansas Education Secretary Jacob Oliva said in a prepared statement about the annual letter grades.
“While we are pleased that a majority of schools’ grades held steady or improved, we still have a lot of work ahead to ensure all students are reading on grade level and are prepared for college, career, and life," Oliva said.
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