Student results from the 2023 ACT Aspire exams "show little to no rebound" when compared to the 2019 results that are used as a baseline to measure achievement in the wake of the covid-19 pandemic, the Arkansas Department of Education said Thursday.
Additionally, the 2023 results — when compared to the spring of 2022 results — showed a mix of slight increases and decreases when compared to the test results from the more recent spring of 2022 results, the agency said in a news release.
Third-grade reading scores showed "the most alarming drop, declining from 35 percent of students reading at or above ready levels in 2022 to 32.2 percent achieving at the ready or better levels in 2023," according to the state's preliminary public report.
"Even though modest gains were seen in grades four, five, eight, nine and 10, only grade 8 reflects half of the students meeting grade-level expectations," the early report said.
The state on Thursday did not initially provide the actual statewide 2023 results for each grade and subject but offered the following:
— Math scores showed the sharpest declines from 2019. When compared to 2022, math scores remained flat in fifth grade. There were increases in third, fourth, sixth and seventh grades and declines noted in grades eight through 10.
— Science scores in grades three, seven and nine showed gains, with third grade showing the most significant increase from the previous year. There were decreases in grades four through six, eight and 10 from 2022.
The scores are the first released since Sarah Huckabee Sanders took office as the state's governor in January. Sanders appointed Jacob Oliva to be the state's secretary of education.
“These scores demonstrate the profound need for the transformative change offered by the Arkansas LEARNS Act,” Oliva said in announcing the preliminary results. “These results are a wake-up call, and we must stop the red-light, green-light tug of war with implementation and act with urgency. It’s time we move forward and focus on evidence-based approaches outlined in LEARNS that will result in increased student learning. Our students deserve nothing less.”
The LEARNS Act or Act 237 of 2023, championed and signed into law March 8 by Sanders, overhauls pre-kindergarten through 12th grade education in the state.
The act raises the minimum teacher salary from $36,000 to $50,000 for the 2023-24 school year and ensures every teacher receives at least a $2,000 raise. The act also provides for literacy coaches and for "high impact tutoring," for students. The act creates Education Freedom Accounts that provides eligible families with state funding to use for private school tuition and related costs. By 2025-26 all families will be eligible to apply and obtain the private school vouchers.
A spreadsheet showing preliminary school results can be found on the education department's website.
The 2023 administration of the ACT Aspire was the final administration in Arkansas as the state moves in 2024 to a new testing program.
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