The middle school math examination serves as a checkpoint for high school preparation. Performance on this exam can help predict high school success in math.

In 2025, 32% of 8th graders were proficient on the exam, an increase from 28% on the 2024 exam. Females and males were about on par, with 31% of females and 32% of males at proficiency.

Proficiency was lower among economically disadvantaged students, at 27%. White students had higher proficiency rates (40%) compared to Black/African American and Hispanic or Latino students (13% and 28%, respectively).

Proficiency was highest in the Jackson County School District (80%). In Springdale and Little Rock, the state's two largest districts, 32% and 12% of 8th graders were proficient, respectively.

Studies point to a variety of factors believed to contribute to disparities in test scores and other measures of student achievement. School systems in the United States are highly segregated, and students of color disproportionately attend schools with high proportions of low-income students who may not have benefited from early learning opportunities at the same rate as other students. Schools also have different levels of resources ranging from qualified/experienced teachers to advanced courses to facilities and technology, and schools with large Black and Latino populations often have lower levels. In addition, teachers across all school systems tend to be disproportionately white, and teaching practices and curriculum may not be culturally relevant to students of color.

Arkansas replaced the ACT Aspire assessment with the ATLAS (Arkansas Teaching, Learning & Assessment System) beginning in Spring 2024. Because ATLAS is a different assessment with different scoring and performance level definitions, ATLAS results cannot be directly compared to ACT Aspire results.

Additionally, assessments vary among states, it is not possible to include comparable data for the nation or other areas in this indicator.