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The Little Rock School District scored a C -- the same as 98 other districts across Arkansas -- when the state issued its first set of letter grades last week as part of a new rollout by the Arkansas Department of Education that grades each district individually, as opposed to only schools. The new grading system, which included a redesigned report card website, aims to help families by offering more transparency on the schools their children attend. It also gives district leaders more tools to identify possible pain points. But what does the grade mean? Put another way, how are the 19,000 or so students at the third-largest school district in Arkansas performing? Below is a breakdown of the indicators used by the Education Department to determine a district's grade, and how well the Little Rock School District fared in each. Achievement (or test scores) The new letter grades rank each district on an A-F scale and are based on the end-of-year Arkansas Teaching and Learning Assessment System scores from the 2024-25 school year. ATLAS, which launched in the 2023-24 school year, tests students in English language arts, math and science. Students are evaluated across four performance levels after completing the test: Level 4: Advanced understanding Level 3: Proficient understanding Level 2: Basic understanding Level 1: Limited understanding In measuring a district's overall achievement score, the Education Department graded each district based on the percentage of students who scored at the top two levels. The department then color-coded each district's indicator based on how they compare with other districts. Indicators are measured across four levels, from highest to lowest: Far above Above Below Far below In terms of achievement, the Little Rock School District scored in the bottom level: far below. The score accounted for the 28% of students district-wide who achieved Level 3 or 4 in English language arts when taking the ATLAS test during the previous school year. That puts the district four percentage points below the state average, but above 33% of other districts statewide. The score indicates a slight improvement from the 2023-24 school year, when 26% of students achieved Level 3 or 4. In math, the district saw 24% of students achieving Level 3 or 4, which is nine percentage points below the state average. The score indicates another improvement for the district from the previous testing year, when 20% of students achieved the top two levels. Finally, in science, 29% of students district-wide achieved Level 3 or 4, coming seven percentage points shy of the state average. As with the former two subjects, the district saw an improvement from the 2023-24 school year, when 25% of students achieved Level 3 or 4. The district fared better than its neighbor on the other side of the Arkansas River. Of the more than 250 districts that were graded, the North Little Rock School District was among 11 last week to have received a letter grade of F. Meanwhile, the Pulaski County Special School District received a D, as did the Jacksonville/North Pulaski School District. Growth Growth measures how well students performed on the end-of-year tests when compared with the previous year's results. In that category, the Little Rock School District scored at the second-to-last level: below. For English language arts, which includes reading, writing, speaking and listening, the district came one percentage point shy of the state average, with 49% of students meeting their individualized growth targets. The score keeps the district at roughly the same spot as the previous two years. For math, the district again saw 49% of students reaching their growth targets -- or two percentage points below the state average. And for science, the district scored at the same level as the state, with 48% of students meeting their targets. The Education Department also measures growth by assessing progress among students at the bottom 25%. In that category, which has not been considered in the past, the Little Rock School District fared better than the state, scoring one percentage point higher in all three subjects. Superintendent Jermall Wright in a video statement last week attributed that to the district's overall grade. "We are actually getting credit now for showing how our students are growing -- regardless of how they're coming to us, regardless of how behind they're coming to us, regardless of how many grade levels they're behind," he said. "If we can show that we are moving our students from point A to point B and they're meeting their expected level of growth every year, we get credit for that now." Wright said he wasn't surprised with the letter grade his district received. He acknowledged that the district can do more to achieve better results, especially given that 78% of students attending the district are considered low income. Student readiness Graduation rates and student readiness are the last indicators used by the Education Department to assess districts' letter grades. Graduation rate measures the percentage of students who graduate high school within the expected four-year time frame. Readiness takes into account students who are prepared for life after graduation, including by enrolling in college, starting a career or enlisting in the military. At the Little Rock School District last year, 82% of students graduated on time, compared with 90% on the state level. For readiness, 39% of students showcased preparedness after high school based on merit and distinction, which is 16 percentage points lower than the state. The Little Rock School District offers several pathways for students to graduate with distinction, including in management, robotics, software development and more. Overall, the district's C letter grade puts it among 38% of districts statewide that received a similar score. Meanwhile, 23 districts received an A, 98 received a B, 24 received a D and 11 received an F.
