Is LEARNS working? Students’ scores rise

By STEVE BRAWNER

The percentage of Arkansas public school students scoring proficient on the state’s end-of-the-year ATLAS test is increasing, while the percentage scoring at the lowest level is decreasing. 

Quite a bit on both, actually. 

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Secretary of Education Jacob Oliva last Thursday announced the scores for the Arkansas Teaching, Learning and Assessment System test, which the LEARNS Act of 2023 created.

This is the third year students have taken the ATLAS test since LEARNS took effect. Over that time, the overall percentage of students scoring proficient – Levels 3 and 4 – has increased from 35% in 2024 to 42.2% in 2026.

Proficiency scores have increased in math, science and English language arts. In math, the proficiency rate has risen from 36.4% in 2024 to 44.2% in 2026 – almost an eight point jump. Science proficiency scores increased even more, from 35.6% in 2024 to 44% in 2026. English language arts proficiency increased from 33.8% in 2024 to 39.5% in 2026.

Furthermore, the percentage of students scoring at Level 1, the lowest level, in those subjects also fell. In English language arts, it dropped from 26.2% in 2024 to 22.7% in 2026. The percentage in math fell from 30.4% in 2024 to 24.3% in 2026. It fell in science from 27.9% to 22.4%. 

Students scoring at Level 1 are significantly behind grade-level expectations. Level 2 students perform at or near expectations but have not consistently mastered the material.

The percentage of students scoring Level 1 in third grade English language arts fell from 29.3% to 22.4%. That’s an important figure. The LEARNS Act requires schools to retain those Level 1 third-graders unless they qualify for one of numerous “good cause exemptions.” 

In an interview on KARK-TV’s “Capitol View,” Oliva said the goal is not to retain students, but to identify those most in need of targeted support. Students can retake the test this summer.

Proficiency for K-2 students rose above 50% across every subject in every grade level except second grade literacy, which increased from 39.4% in 2025 to 48.5% in 2026. The K-2 students all started school after the LEARNS Act became law.

Announcing the scores at the Capitol Thursday, Sanders said that 44,000 more public school students are learning at or above proficiency.

“This year, Arkansas students did something extraordinary,” she said. “They improved in every single grade level across every single subject. To put it simply, LEARNS is working.”

Oliva said in a brief interview afterwards that he had never seen gains this large during his educational career, which he spent in Florida prior to Sanders appointing him secretary of education. 

The LEARNS Act is best known for its educational freedom accounts that provide state funding for students to attend private and home schools. It’s also known for increasing minimum public school starting teacher salaries to $50,000. 

Sanders and Oliva pointed to other features of the law that contributed to the score improvements. Oliva said LEARNS provided the state’s education system clarity and alignment. Students are being tested on the skills they need. He said the state is now tracking students’ progress throughout the year so educators can address deficiencies along the way. Some families learned of their students’ test scores the day they took the test. LEARNS also assigned more than 120 literacy tutors to the state’s worst-performing schools. More than 23,000 students now receive high-impact tutoring.

The improvements Sanders and Oliva announced are significant. This is good news, especially coming on the heels of the disruptions and learning loss that occurred during the COVID pandemic.

The excitement should be tempered by the fact that, as Oliva acknowledged, far too many students still are not proficient. More than six in 10 students are not proficient in English language arts, which includes reading. That includes the almost 23% who are scoring at the completely unacceptable Level 1.

The numbers to watch now are the state’s scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress. That’s the test that measures a sample of students in grades 4, 8 and 12 across all states. In 2024, Arkansas fell below the national average in grades 4 and 8 reading and math, but not terribly. 

Expect another announcement by Sanders and Oliva if Arkansas tops those national averages. Meanwhile, let’s hope those scores keep rising – quite a bit, actually.

Steve Brawner’s column is syndicated to 24 news outlets in Arkansas. Email him at brawnersteve@mac.com.