This report looks at student growth in Arkansas school districts disaggregated by district poverty and by the district's value-added performance relative to other districts. We estimated district value-added performance statistics by subject and grade level (8 and 11-12) for longitudinal student cohorts, using statistical models that adjusted for…

This report focuses on the extent to which students who are academically far off track in fourth or eighth grade in Arkansas catch up by eighth or eleventh and twelfth grades. We studied two recent cohorts of Arkansas students whose eighth-grade ACT Explore® scores were more than one standard deviation below the ACT Explore Benchmark scores…

Educators and policymakers have set a goal that all students graduate from high school ready for college and careers. A substantial body of research supports the idea that the path to college and career readiness begins well before middle and high school. In an earlier policy report, ACT examined the percentage of academically far off track…

Under the current version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), public schools must show consistent improvement in achievement for all students including English language learners (ELL) and students with disabilities. The assessment of ELL students and students with disabilities can present unique challenges to schools that must…

Last year, Hispanic and African American high school graduates met ACT's College Readiness Benchmarks in English, reading, mathematics, and science at substantially lower rates than did Asian and White graduates. For example, the rate of White graduates who were college ready in English (77%) was twice that of their African American peers (35%).…