It was first reported on this blog that the Little Rock School District was one of twelve districts/charters in Arkansas improving on the ACT Aspire in every grade.
That is still true.
Unfortunately, like the old game of telephone, it is now been repeated to the point that it sometimes morphs into “The Little Rock School District is one of only twelve districts in the state improving on the ACT Aspire.”
That is not true.
In fact, 206 of the 258 districts and charters in Arkansas cumulatively improved on the ACT Aspire. Among those, LRSD ranked 109th in overall improvement.
Also, at a recent LRSD event, it was shared that the district had the highest ACT scores of any district in Pulaski County.
In regard to eleventh graders’ summative exam, that is not true.
| District | Reading | English | Math | Science |
| Jacksonville/North Pulaski | 17.0 | 16.6 | 17.0 | 17.2 |
| Little Rock | 17.9 | 17.4 | 17.8 | 17.9 |
| North Little Rock | 17.3 | 16.4 | 17.3 | 17.4 |
| Pulaski County | 18.8 | 18.0 | 17.9 | 18.4 |
| Arkansas Average | 18.8 | 18.3 | 18.4 | 18.9 |
Actually, four of the LRSD’s five high schools declined in readiness on all four subjects of the ACT.
| Schools | Reading | English | Math | Science | 2015-16 Ready All 4 Subjects | 2016-17 Ready All 4 Subjects | Growth/ Decline |
| Central | 20.6 | 20.4 | 19.9 | 20.1 | 22.3% | 26.8% | +4.5 |
| Fair | 15.3 | 13.9 | 15.9 | 15.1 | 1.7% | .7% | -1 |
| Hall | 14.1 | 13.3 | 15.2 | 14.2 | 1.5% | 0% | -1.5 |
| McClellan | 14.2 | 13.7 | 15.6 | 15.8 | .7% | .7% | 0 |
| Parkview | 19.0 | 18.6 | 18.0 | 18.8 | 15.5% | 9.2% | -6.3 |
| Arkansas Average | 18.8 | 18.3 | 18.4 | 18.9 | 12.7% | 13.6% | +.9 |
Clearly, the district’s highest performing students have been Balkanized into Central and to a lesser extent at Parkview, which dropped 6.3 points in 2016-17, the greatest decline in the county. The percentage of students meeting readiness benchmarks in all four subjects declined in three of five LRSD high schools, while McClellan’s .7% remained the same.
Most egregiously, Hall High School had zero students meeting the readiness benchmark in all four subjects. That only occurred in 19 of Arkansas’s 291 high schools.
Here’s how the rest of the public high schools performed in Pulaski County.
| Reading | English | Math | Science | 2015-16 Ready All 4 Subjects | 2016-17 Ready All 4 Subjects | Growth/ Decline | |
| Jacksonville | 17.0 | 16.6 | 17.0 | 17.2 | 3.1% | 6% | +2.9 |
| Maumelle | 19.7 | 19.0 | 18.4 | 19.0 | 14.4% | 16% | +1.6 |
| Mills | 17.3 | 16.5 | 17.1 | 17.0 | 8.3% | 10.3% | +2 |
| North Little Rock | 17.3 | 16.4 | 17.3 | 17.4 | 8.9% | 9.1% | +.2 |
| Robinson | 18.6 | 17.1 | 17.2 | 18.3 | 3.2% | 8.5% | +5.3 |
| Sylvan Hills | 18.8 | 18.2 | 18.2 | 18.7 | 5.9% | 11.9% | +6 |
| eStem Charter | 20.0 | 19.9 | 19.2 | 20.1 | 13.8% | 22.5% | +8.7% |
| Jacksonville Lighthouse Charter | 18.5 | 17.1 | 17.1 | 17.9 | NA | 9.1% | NA |
| LISA Charter | 18.7 | 17.8 | 18.8 | 18.1 | 16.4% | 22.9% | +6.5 |
| LISA North Charter | 21.2 | 22.1 | 19.8 | 19.2 | 22.7% | 21.7% | -1 |
| Maumelle Charter | 19.9 | 20.3 | 18.8 | 20.0 | 6.9% | 12.8% | +5.9 |
| Premier Charter | 13.8 | 13.2 | 15.5 | 14.8 | 0% | 3.6% | -3.6 |
| SIA Tech Charter | N<10 | N<10 | N<10 | N<10 | <10 NA | 0% | NA |
| Arkansas Average | 18.8 | 18.3 | 18.4 | 18.9 | 12.7% | 13.6% | +.9 |
Every public high school in Pulaski County – traditional and charter – outperformed three of five LRSD high schools. And seven of twelve outperformed four of five LRSD high schools.
Facts must illuminate, not obfuscate.