Overall performance on state exams, as well as racial and ethnic disparities, are educational concerns in Arkansas, while high school graduation rates and adult education levels have been improving.

The foundation for a child's education is built early in life with nurturing and enriching interactions with parents and other caregivers. One measure of this is the availability of quality early child care and preschool. Arkansas has the capacity to serve 34% of preschoolers in quality, public programs, and only 10% of infants and toddlers. Arkansas’ Imagination Library program, which provides books for children ages 0 to 5, successfully enrolled 42% of children statewide by 2023, a significant increase from 10% in 2018.

Once children enter school, performance on exams is a measure of learning. Passing rates on key state exams in 2023 were below 2019 pre-pandemic rates, with 32% of 3rd graders proficient in reading and 38% of 8th graders proficient in math. This means less than half of students are meeting the state’s new expectations, set in 2018 with the adoption of the ACT Aspire exams.

Females slightly outperformed males by 3 points in reading and were about par on math. Economically disadvantaged students and racial minorities had the lowest passing rates.

High school graduation rates have risen 4 percentage points from 2012, with 88% of the Class of 2022 graduating on time. Performance was also more even across groups, with all groups posting graduation rates of at least 80%. Growth has been strongest among Hispanic or Latino (+9 points), Asian and Black or African American (both +7 points) and economically disadvantaged (+6 points) students.

However, entering college students show signs of not being fully prepared. In 2022, 35% of first-year students were enrolled in a remedial course, and female students (32%) were more likely to be enrolled in remediation than male students (27%).

Adult education levels are rising, with 88% of Arkansans 25 and older holding at least a high school degree, up 2 percentage points from 2013-17 and up 13 percentage points from 2000. Those possessing a bachelor’s or higher degree (25%) increased 3 percentage points from 2013-17 and up 8 points from 2000. However, Arkansas lags the nation on these measures: 42nd for high school diploma and 49th for a bachelor’s degree. The share of adults having at least a high school diploma were higher among white (90%), Black or African American (87%), and Asian adults (87%), than Hispanic (62%) adults and there were disparities among those with at least a bachelor’s: 50% for Asian adults compared to 26% of white and 12% of Hispanic and 18% of African American adults.

For those adults without a post-secondary degree, some continue to work toward one. In 2022, 2.6% of Arkansas' working-age adults were enrolled in further education, down from 5.1% in 2012 (a decrease of roughly 26,300 adults in terms of enrollment).