Gallup recently surveyed adults for their perspectives on the quality of K-12 education in the U.S. Only 24 percent of respondents said they were satisfied, the lowest mark in the national survey's 22-year history. It's a sentiment that I've heard here in Arkansas, but fortunately for our state, it is beginning to shift.

As a parent and as an educator, I get it. Like all states, the pandemic sent Arkansas students' performance--and parents' confidence--plummeting. But bright spots persist amid the ongoing challenges, and I believe they are worth learning from and building on.

To learn more about what's working, I often turn to the annual reports that the Office for Education Policy (OEP) at the University of Arkansas releases. For a certain group of educators, the unveiling date is a bit like Christmas morning. We eagerly check OEP's website to see how our schools measure up, and where we can continue to improve.

For the K-8 school I lead at Exalt Academy in Little Rock, 2023-24 was a banner year. OEP recognized us for achieving the best growth scores in a Gifted and Talented program and the best growth scores in English language arts. When the OEP researchers honed in on growth in schools where students faced........

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