For the first time, the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) has issued letter grades to school districts in addition to individual schools. Fayetteville Public School District is pleased to share that it has received an “A” designation for the 2024-25 school year. FPS is one of 23 school districts to receive an “A” grade out of the 254 public school districts in Arkansas.
“We are very pleased with the “A” grade Fayetteville Public Schools received,” said superintendent Dr. John Mulford. “It is a direct reflection of the hard work and determination of our teachers and students and the support of our families and community. The importance of and emphasis on education has always been a hallmark of the Fayetteville community, and it is still strong today.”
For the first time, ADE is publishing district letter grades, developed in accordance with the ACCESS Act (2025), which directed ADE to create a formula to determine letter grades for all public school districts and education service cooperatives.
District letter grades provide a statewide measure of overall district performance and help local leaders and communities identify academic strengths and areas for growth. District ratings are determined using the same calculation method as high schools, with the district treated as a single K–12 campus. All students within the district are included in the calculation, and the high school cut scores are applied to determine the final district letter grade. A district’s letter grade cannot be higher than the highest-performing school or lower than the lowest-performing school in that district.
District report cards now accompany school report cards on the My School Info website. Each district’s page includes its overall letter grade, performance on accountability indicators, and the letter grades for all schools within the district. For more information on where data is pulled from for the website, please see https://dese.ade.arkansas.gov/Offices/public-school-accountability/school-performance/school-letter-grade.