Data-Driven Education Journalism for the Natural State
Education News & Data
Local education reporting from every corner of Arkansas, grounded in Arkansas Department of Education data.
Susan Blockburger says Riverview's next year starts with continuity, student supports and a small-school atmosphere as she serves as interim superintendent.
Vick Barrett says Poyen's next chapter starts with staff support, student success and steady growth as he moves from principal to superintendent.
Arkansas girls graduate at 91%, boys at 87% — a persistent 4-point gap that shows no sign of narrowing.
Two Rivers gained 18 points on its graduation rate in three years, climbing from 71.2% to 89.2% — the largest improvement of any Arkansas district.
Foster care students' graduation rate in Arkansas fell from 73.5% to 67.9% since 2018 — the only subgroup declining while all others improved.
Malvern School District spiked to 34% chronic absence in the COVID era, then improved every year since, landing at 13.8% — below its pre-COVID rate and half the state average.
Asian students in Arkansas reached a 96.3% graduation rate in 2024, gaining 5.4 points since 2016, the largest improvement of any racial group.
Alpena cut chronic absenteeism from 26% to under 10% across two consecutive years while 87% of Arkansas districts got worse. The rural district now outperforms its own pre-COVID baseline.
Nearly 30% of Arkansas districts report exactly 95.0% graduation rates, a data suppression artifact that hides true performance.
While Arkansas's statewide chronic absence rate lurched from 14% to 27%, 33 districts kept their rates below 20% in every single measured year — including the COVID spike.
Economically disadvantaged students in Arkansas graduate at 86.9%, just 2.1 points below the state average, one of the narrowest income gaps in the nation.
Lincoln School District pairs every student with a mentor and operates on a 4-day week. The data confirms it works: chronic absence is back to its pre-COVID level of 9.3%.
Little Rock School District graduates 82.3% of students, up from 80.0% in 2022. Suburban Bryant, 20 minutes south, hits 96.2%.
While 87% of Arkansas districts saw chronic absenteeism worsen in 2024, Hoxie cut its rate in half over five years — the only district to improve in every measured period.
The white-Black graduation gap in Arkansas shrank from 7.7 to 5.5 points over nine years, driven by Black students gaining 3.6 points.
