Arkansas School District Grades Show Progress and Uneven Results

The Arkansas Department of Education has released its official 2025-26 letter grades for school districts and schools. The grades offer families a quick way to review how districts perform across key areas, including student achievement, growth, graduation and readiness.

This is the second year that Arkansas has given letter grades to school districts. The system aims to help families and local communities understand how their schools are doing. A single letter cannot tell the whole story, but it can point people towards useful questions.

How Arkansas districts performed

According to the data released by the ADE, 26 districts received an A. This represents about one in 10 districts. The largest group received a B, with 114 districts in that category.

Another 88 districts received a C. Seventeen districts received a D, while nine districts received an F.

In total, the table lists 254 districts. The numbers show that B was the most common grade, followed by C. Together, those two groups include most of the districts listed in the release.

What goes into a district grade?

The ADE grades districts using four main areas:

• Achievement: How well students perform in their school work and assessments.
• Growth: How much students improve over time.
• Graduation: How many students complete high school.
• Readiness: How well students are prepared for further study, work or life after school.

These areas look at more than test scores. For example, a district may show strong student growth even when its overall achievement level still needs work. This is why families may want to look at the full school report, rather than rely on the letter alone.

State leaders point to growth

Arkansas Secretary of Education Jacob Oliva said districts are making meaningful progress, with strong growth across the state. The ADE also said the grades reflect the work of educators, students and families.

Oliva linked the results to the support given through LEARNS, Arkansas' education plan. The department said these supports have helped districts focus on student needs and improve school results.

School grades can affect how a community views its local education system. They can also lead to closer talks about teaching, attendance, student support and school resources. An F grade does not explain every challenge in a district, just as an A grade does not mean every student has the same experience. Schools contain many stories, and one letter has a hard time fitting them all into a neat little box.

What families should check next

Parents and caregivers can use the district grade as a starting point. They may want to check the individual school grade, graduation data, attendance figures and student growth results. It can also help to ask how the district supports students who need extra help.

Families should also compare results over time. A district with a lower grade but strong growth may be moving in a good direction. A district with a high grade may still have gaps between student groups or schools.

The release includes both district and school letter grades. Families looking at a school should make sure they are viewing the correct report, since a district grade covers a wider area and may not match the grade of every school within it.

A note about the published percentages

The district counts add up to 254. The percentages printed in the release total more than 100%, and the C percentage does not match the listed count when calculated from 254 districts. This may be a table error or a result of figures being based on a different total. Readers should check the ADE's official data page for any updated percentage table before using the figures for detailed comparisons.