Standardized test results
Arkansas Benchmarks Exam results
Arkansas public school students in grades three through eight took the Arkansas Augmented Benchmark Exam last spring. The exam measures how well students know the skills and concepts identified by Arkansas teachers and other educators as appropriate for each grade in math and literacy. Two grades are also tested in science. The following shows the percentages of students in each grade who scored at proficient or advanced levels on the exams. The state defines “proficient” as mastery of grade-level work.
Iowa Test of Basic Skills results
Approximately 357,000 Arkansas students in kindergarten through ninth grade took the Iowa Test of Basic Skills, a nationally standardized test, last spring. This was the first year in recent years that students took the Iowa test and so there is no direct comparison to standardized test results in the previous school year. For students in grades three through eight, the Iowa test questions were blended with the state’s Benchmark exam. Students in kindergarten, first and second grades and in ninth grade took only the Iowa test. The Iowa test compares the achievement level of Arkansas students to a national sample of students who took the same test. The results are reported in percentiles and the 50th percentile is considered the national average.