Arkansas test scores leap after schools ban Critical Race Theory and Radical Gender Theory | Eastern NC Now

After passing a conservative education reform law three years ago that was championed by Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Arkansas has seen its standardized test scores soar by seven points, five of those accomplished in just the last year.  A key feature of the law was a focus of education basics and a ban on teaching DEI relayed subjects like Critical Race Theory and Radical Gender Theory.  The law also raised teacher pay and created performance-driven bonuses for higher achieving teachers.

Governor Sanders is touting Arkansas' success as a model for other states.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2026/06/arkansas-governor-sarah-sanders-announces-big-gains-test/

Here in Beaufort County, the conservative group on our School Board has enacted bans on both Critical Race Theory and Radical Gender Theory in our local school curriculum policies.  These changes ultimately got unanimous approval by the Board.  In the first new curriculum adopted under that new policy, on Science, the Board instructed curriculum vendors that these subjects were not acceptable, and the vendors complied by submitting curricula that did not include them.  How this will continue to play our after December, however, is unknown because two key conservatives were replaced in the primary by challengers with backgrounds in a teachers union.  Hopefully, the  remaining board conservatives will be able to hold the line.  Beaufort County has started on the right path, and should stay on it.