While anxiously awaiting the mid-October release of Arkansas’ growth scores (which we think are the best measure of how well a school is educating its students academically), here at OEP we are developing tools to help stakeholders interpret the recently released ACT Aspire scores.

Although we have reported that proficiency rates declined at every grade level in every subject in 2021, when we examine school level data, we find some bright spots to celebrate! Some schools made gains in proficiency during the challenging learning context of the last year and a half. For example, in 2021, 3rd graders in Deer K-12 were 27 percentage points (pp) more likely to be proficient in math than the school’s 3rd graders in 2019.

We present the top proficiency gaining schools for each grade and subject below:

Want to see how your school’s proficiency rates changed?

Last week we released a school-level data visualization that allows educators and parents to examine how performance has changed in a school or district since 2019.

Our newest data visualization allows educators and parents to examine how a specific grade-level’s performance has changed in a school or district since 2019. You can compare, for example, 4th grade math performance in 2019 with 4th grade math performance in 2021. It is important to understand that in this visualization we are comparing two different sets of students from two different years, and there may be important differences between those student groups that are related to achievement. Comparing within a grade level, however, is important because we know that historically there are differences in proficiency rates by grade and subject.

It is important to remember that two different sets of students from two different years are being compared in this visualization, and there may be important differences between those student groups that are related to achievement. Comparing within a grade level, however, is important because we know that historically there are differences in proficiency rates by grade and subject.

We hope that these resources are helpful as educators and parents are planning for the school year. In most classrooms, students are entering with lower skills in math, reading, English, and science than those who came before them. It is critical to reflect on our practices and measure our success.

Be sure to check back next week as we share information about how proficiency rates have changed since 2016 by district and school for grade-level cohorts!