It is Year 2 for Arkansas Teaching, Learning, and Assessment System (ATLAS) results for Grades 3 through High School. In an earlier blog we noted celebrations for overall increases at the state level and a few areas to watch. We were curious to know how achievement looked at the school level since this is the first year to compare apples to apples in school achievement. Remember, under the new A – F school rating formula it is the percent of students meeting proficient or above and not the weighted achievement used prior to 2024.
- How did schools change in the percent of students proficient or above (proficiency rate)?
- Which schools saw the biggest increases or decreases?
We focus on the change in a school’s proficiency rate from 2024 to 2025 because we know that some of a school’s proficiency rate can be related to economic advantage or disadvantage of its student population. Regardless of the students a school serves, our hope is that schools improve each year compared to themselves, especially now that we have a test aligned to the standards students are expected to meet.
Our expectations for improvement differ a little based on where a school started last year. Think about it like improving your time for running the 400 meters. If you are running pretty fast already, your time can still improve, but it will probably be in small increments. If you are starting out at the slower end for the 400 meters, you may improve in bigger increments until you get to a competitive speed.
What We Did
We directly compared each school to itself giving each school a change score. The change score is simply difference in proficiency rate from 2024 to 2025. We combined Algebra and Geometry under math and Biology under science. We calculated the percent of students proficient or above in 2024 and in 2025. We subtracted each school’s 2024 percent proficient or above from its 2025 percent proficient or above.
This change score lets us look at the change in percent proficient for each school and how that change is distributed across all schools within a grade span and subject.
- A positive change score means the school increased the percent of students proficient or above.
- A negative change score means the school decreased the percent of students proficient or above.
What We Learned
Overall: Most Arkansas schools showed slight improvement, with math leading the way. Outliers—both positive and negative—highlight schools which may be worth taking a closer look.
The real story is in the spread: some schools jumped, some slipped, some stayed flat. See Figure 1.
The colored bars indicate positive average change in proficiency rates because they are above the zero line. Because the real story is in the spread of the change scores, we marked the spread with vertical black lines on the chart. The values on the lines show you how far the size of the schools’ change scores (+ or -) are from the average. Back to our analogy. If we all ran the 400 meters, most of our times would fall within the darkest shaded area (± 1 standard deviation). Nationally competitive runners’ times might fall within the next lighter shaded area (± 2 standard deviations), with World and Olympic Champions’ times falling in the lightest area along the vertical spread (± 3 standard deviations).
What does it mean for our schools? Think of the lines and the values as telling us about the number of schools that fall within certain distances from the average change score.
- Around two thirds of schools would be within the darker shaded area around the average (± 1).
- Another 15% would be in the next lighter shaded area above or below the average (± 2).
- Less than 1% of schools would be in the outer, lightest shaded area above or below average (± 3).
We are highlighting the schools whose proficiency rate gains are in that top 16 percent of all schools. We spotlight schools with at least 100 students tested to ensure the change reflects a meaningful number of students (20 of 100 versus 4 of 20). We also remove schools consisting of a single tested grade level since their change in proficiency may be due to a different group of kids each year.
Top Improving Schools (2024–2025)
We want to be clear that we aren’t making assumptions about why these improvements occurred (changes in strategies, leadership, alignment, absenteeism, discipline, etc.). The why is best informed by conversations at the local level and some good old-fashioned root cause analysis (e.g. Ishikawa fishbone analysis or the five-whys). It is important to understand how you improved so you can continue it in the future!
ELA Elementary
- Elm Tree Elementary: 52% to 68% (+16) Grades K-4. Bentonville School District
- Murrell Taylor Elementary: 21% to 37% (+16) Grades K-5. Jacksonville North Pulaski School District
- Armorel Elementary: 35% to 50% (+15) Grades K-6. Armorel School District
- R.E. Baker Elementary: 43% to 58% (+15) Grades K-4. Bentonville School District
- Manila Elementary: 36% to 50% (+14) Grades P-6. Manila School District
- The International School at Mary Mae Jones: 44% to 57% (+13) Grades K-4. Bentonville School District
ELA Middle
- East End Middle: 39% to 51% (+12) Grades 5-8. Sheridan School District
- Rivercrest Junior High Preparatory Academy: 24% to 35% (+11) Grades 7-8. Rivercrest School District
- Swifton Middle: 24% to 35% (+11) Grades 5-7. Jackson County School District
- Greenwood Junior High: 43% to 53% (+10) Grades 7-8. Greenwood School District
- Wynne Junior High: 24% to 33% (+9) Grades 6-8. Wynne School District
ELA High School
- Lavaca High*: 25% to 45% (+20) Grades 9-12. Lavaca School District
- Southside Charter High School: 30% to 48% (+18) Grades 10-12. Southside School District (Independence)
- Benton High School: 41% to 58% (+17) Grades 10-12. Benton School District
- Valley View High School: 35% to 49% (+14) Grades 10-12. Valley View School District
Schools marked with an asterisk were among the top 1% for school gains in proficiency in their grade span statewide.
Math Elementary
- Eastside Elementary: 42% to 64% (+22) Grades K-4. Cabot School District
- Alpena Elementary: 37% to 58% (+21) Grades K-6. Alpena School District
- Jessieville Elementary: 52% to 73% (+21) Grades P-5. Jessieville School District
- Mountain View Elementary: 38% to 59% (+21) Grades K-4. Benton School District
- The International School at Mary Mae Jones: 41% to 61% (+20) Grades K-4. Bentonville School District
- Acorn Elementary: 35% to 55% (+20) Grades K-4. Ouachita River School District
- Northside Elementary: 27% to 46% (+19) Grades P-4. Cabot School District
- Mountain Springs Elementary: 47% to 66% (+19) Grades P-4. Cabot School District
- West Fork Elementary: 26% to 45% (+19) Grades K-4. West Fork School District
- Malvern Elementary: 10% to 27% (+17) Grades K-4. Malvern School District
- Melbourne Elementary: 52% to 68% (+16) Grades K-6. Melbourne School District
- Joe Mathias Elementary: 39% to 55% (+16) Grades P-5. Rogers School District
- Centerton Gamble Elementary: 45% to 61% (+16) Grades K-4. Bentonville School District
- Barling Elementary: 33% to 49% (+16) Grades P-5. Fort Smith School District
Math Middle
- Bald Knob Middle *: 28% to 48% (+20) Grades 6-8. Bald Knob School District
- Rivercrest Junior High Preparatory Academy: 31% to 49% (+18) Grades 7-8. Rivercrest School District
- Cabot Junior High South: 38% to 56% (+18) Grades 7-8. Cabot School District
- Swifton Middle: 37% to 54% (+17) Grades 5-7. Jackson County School District
- East Hills Middle: 41% to 54% (+13) Grades 5-6. Greenwood School District
Math High School
- Glen Rose High*: 10% to 35% (+25) Grades 7-12. Glen Rose School District
- Benton High*: 19% to 44% (+25) Grades 10-12. Benton School District
- Bradford High: 7% to 26% (+19) Grades 7-12. Bradford School District
- Quitman High: 21% to 40% (+19) Grades 9-12. Quitman School District
- Yellville-Summit High: 11% to 29% (+18) Grades 9-12. Yellville-Summit School District
- Centerpoint High: 16% to 34% (+18) Grades 6-12. Centerpoint School District
- Lisa Academy Arkansas Hybrid: 16% to 33% (+17) Grades K-12. Lisa Academy Charter School District
- Drew Central High: 15% to 32% (+17) Grades 9-12. Drew Central School District
- Graduate Arkansas Charter High: 1% to 18% (+17) Grades 9-12. Graduate Arkansas Charter School District
Schools marked with an asterisk were among the top 1% for school gains in proficiency in their grade span statewide.
Science Elementary
- Oak Grove Elementary: 27% to 47% (+20) Grades 2-4. Paragould School District
- Caldwell Elementary: 42% to 62% (+20) Grades K-4. Benton School District
- Oscar Hamilton Elementary: 38% to 57% (+19) K-6. Foreman School District
- Northside Elementary: 25% to 43% (+18) Grades P-4. Cabot School District
- Westwood Elementary: 52% to 68% (+16) Grades P-4. Greenwood School District
- Murrell Taylor Elementary: 17% to 33% (+16) Grades K-5. Jacksonville North Pulaski School District
- West Side Elementary: 35% to 51% (+16) Grades P-6. West Side School District (Cleburne)
Science Middle
- Rivercrest Junior High Preparatory Academy: 19% to 34% (+15) Grades 7-8. Rivercrest School District
- Pea Ridge Middle: 37% to 51% (+14) Grades 5-6. Pea Ridge School District
- Corning Middle: 37% to 50% (+13) Grades 5-8. Corning School District
- Danville Lower Middle: 45% to 56% (+11) Grades 5-6. Danville School District
Science High School
- Dardanelle High: 35% to 56% (+21) Grades 9-12. Dardanelle School District
- Spring Hill High: 35% to 56% (+21) Grades 7-12. Spring Hill School District
- Greene County Tech Junior High: 31% to 51% (+20) Grades 8-9. Greene County Tech School District
- Heber Springs High: 45% to 64% (+19) Grades 9-12. Heber Springs School District
- Benton High: 46% to 65% (+19) Grades 10-12. Benton School District
Schools marked with an asterisk were among the top 1% for school gains in proficiency in their grade span statewide.
Most Declining Schools (2024–2025)
We reiterate that we aren’t making assumptions about why school declines occurred (changes in strategies, leadership, alignment, changes to grade configuration, absenteeism, discipline, etc.). That is best informed by conversations at the local level and some good old-fashioned root cause analysis (e.g. Ishikawa fishbone or the five-whys).
Rather than list these schools we provide you with the change scores that were in the lowest 16 percent of all schools. We know that if you are in this section, it is important to engage in root cause analysis and many of you may already be doing just that.
The range of percentage point declines are provided below.
ELA
- Elementary: -12 to -13
- Middle: The middle schools with the largest losses in ELA were either a single grade level school (different students in 2024 and 2025) or they were schools that changed configuration or students served.
- High: -11 to -16
Math
- Elementary: -14 to -22
- Middle: -9 to -15
- High: -10
Science
- Elementary: -10 to -15
- Middle: -7 to -11
- High: -16 to -25
Looking Ahead: Why Growth Scores Matter
Changes in school proficiency rates have some limitations. We aren’t comparing the same group of students because the students tested each year aren’t the same. A new group of 3rd graders enters, and the oldest grade exits. That can make percent proficient go up or down simply because of who’s being tested. That is why we excluded schools that only serve one tested grade level such as K-3s and freshman academies.
We also know that schools with higher proficiency rates don’t tend to increase or decrease to the extent that they end up in the top or bottom 16% of change—back to that 400-meter analogy—their improvements and declines tend to be smaller increments.
Proficiency rates in one year strongly predict scores the next year. That is why we highlight the bigger changes. Critically, that’s why we look forward to Arkansas’s value-added growth school scores. Value-added school growth scores help us see how much each student learned during the year compared to what we expected. Because their expectation is based on how the student has achieved in prior years, it controls for things like the economic advantage or disadvantage of a student or the student population as a whole. Growth scores take into account whether the student is a seasoned competitive 400-meter runner or a new track athlete trying to catch up to compete. It gives us a more nuanced and fair view of change within the student. Over time, high student growth leads to increased proficiency but it can take more time than one year.
Have questions? Want support understanding or explaining your data? Reach out to us at oep@uark.edu
Stay Tuned! OEP awards will be out soon and still calculated the same way to showcase schools with the greatest growth in student learning last year.