The Little Rock School District is reporting significant improvement in school performance following the release of the state’s 2026 district and school grades, with the number of LRSD schools receiving an F rating declining from 20 in 2022 to just three in 2026—an 85% reduction. The District also saw improvement at the elementary and middle school levels, with F-rated elementary schools declining from 15 to two and the number of F-rated middle schools dropping from four to zero since 2022.
The year-over-year results also show substantial movement across individual schools. Eleven LRSD schools increased their state letter grade from 2025 to 2026, while 16 increased their overall accountability score by at least 10 points. In all, 17 schools achieved at least one of those measures of significant improvement, including 10 schools that increased both their letter grade and accountability score. Otter Creek Elementary gained nearly 157 points and moved from a D to a B; Terry Elementary gained more than 105 points and moved from a D to a B; and Western Hills Elementary gained more than 97 points and moved from an F to a C. Other schools posted significant point gains while remaining within the same letter-grade band, including Forest Heights STEM Academy, Wakefield Elementary, Little Rock Southwest High School, Central High School, Lacey K-8 Academy and Watson Elementary.
“A letter grade matters, but it doesn’t always tell the whole story. The bigger story is movement, and we are seeing meaningful movement across this district,” Superintendent Dr. Jermall Wright said. “We have fewer schools performing at the lowest level, more schools moving into stronger performance categories, and significant academic gains happening inside schools even when the letter grade hasn’t changed. That is progress worth recognizing - and it also gives us more work to do.”
Districtwide, LRSD maintained its overall C grade while increasing its total accountability score from 405.35 points in 2024-25 to 419.42 points in 2025-26, a gain of 14.07 points. The District’s student achievement score increased by 15.76 points, from 81.20 to 96.96, while overall student growth increased from 148.93 to 150.63 points. LRSD also moved from matching the state in overall growth in 2024-25 to exceeding the state by 2.90 points in 2025-26. Performance among the District’s lowest 25% of students remained above the state, with LRSD scoring 163.29 points compared with 154.97 statewide. The District also celebrated three schools - Roberts Elementary, Forest Park Elementary and Jefferson Elementary - for ranking among the state’s top 5% in achievement in mathematics, ELA and science. J.A. Fair K-8 Preparatory Academy was recognized as one of the state’s newest GEM schools for sustained improvement. The District also reported historic gains among its Multilingual Learners, with 265 students meeting all state criteria for reclassification in 2025-26, compared with 123 in 2024-25 and 65 the year before. LRSD Multilingual Learners in grades 3-12 also outperformed the state average on the ELPA 21 assessment, marking another first for the District.
“These results do not mean our work is finished,” Wright said. “We still have schools that must improve faster, achievement gaps that must continue to close, and students who deserve stronger outcomes. But the evidence shows that LRSD is moving - not just individual schools, but the District as a whole. We are proud of the progress our students and staff are making, and we also recognize the progress being made by school districts across Pulaski County. At the same time, LRSD remains the highest-performing public school district in the county, and we will continue using these results to identify what is working, where we need to improve and how we can create stronger outcomes for every student.”
Wright also praised every teacher, teacher assistant, principal, assistant principal, custodian, secretary, counselor, Instructional Leadership Team member, network staff member, food service worker, and bus driver in LRSD, sharing that the progress was a direct result of the work they do each day.
