LITTLE ROCK – The third annual report on Arkansas’s Education Freedom Account (EFA) Program, prepared by the University of Arkansas Department of Education Reform School Choice Demonstration Project in collaboration with the Arkansas Department of Education, shows the program grew substantially in 2025-26 while retaining existing students and producing strong academic results.
“This year’s report, which covers the first year in which all Arkansas K-12 students were eligible to apply for an EFA account, tells us that it is in high demand and shows encouraging academic results,” said Emmy Henley, managing director of education nonprofit The Reform Alliance. “An unprecedented number of Arkansas students were able to access education in a way that works best for their needs, and the report shows higher average assessment percentile ranks than those reported in the previous year.”
The program served 44,524 active students. According to the report’s executive summary, 95.8 percent of students who participated in grades K-11 during 2024-25 continued in the program in 2025-26. The standard annual EFA allocation totaled $6,994, with higher allocations for former Succeed Scholarship participants. EFA funds can be used only for approved educational expenses, including tuition and fees, curriculum, learning materials, tutoring, therapy and more.
The report shows that approximately 60% of EFA students attended private school in 2025-26, while 37% were homeschooled and 3% attended microschools. Together, homeschool and microschool students represented approximately 40% of participants. In 2024-25, 76% attended private school and 24% were classified as homeschooled.
“It’s interesting that as the actual number of students participating in the program tripled, a much larger percentage of those students were enrolled in nontraditional education,” Henley said. “That reflects families using the program to pursue different educational settings and combinations of approved programs and services.”
The program also served students with special needs or learning differences. About 16.3 percent of EFA students—7,254 children—had reported disabilities. The report notes that the actual share is higher, because former Succeed Scholarship participants were not required to report their disability status again. More than one in five microschool participants (21.4%) had special needs. Microschools often provide individualized attention in small learning environments.
“Anecdotally, we have often heard families, including those with special needs children, say that the EFA program has finally made options like private schools and microschools realistic—that they would be unable to afford such an environment without it,” Henley said.
EFA students must take an approved annual assessment, subject to applicable exemptions. Options include the state assessment and approved national norm-referenced tests. Norm-referenced tests compare students with a national peer group, whereas the ATLAS gauges mastery of learning outlined in state standards.
The report lists average assessment percentile ranks of 62 in math and 66 in reading, compared with averages of 57 in math and 59 in English in Language Arts reported in 2024-25. These aggregate results do not measure individual students’ year-to-year growth. Homeschool students had higher average reported percentile ranks than private school and microschool students in 2025-26.
“Testing is an important accountability element of the EFA program, particularly as it grows. The public needs information about the academic performance of students who receive funds, and these reported results are encouraging,” Henley said. “The report lists average percentile ranks of 62 in math and 66 in reading. It should go without saying that seeing positive academic results like that is a good thing for Arkansas.”
