2,217 research outputs found
FifthâŠor Forty-Ninth? Examining Educational Rankings in Arkansas
Media outlets, as well as many leaders across the state, have recently been trumpeting the Natural Stateâs fifth-place ranking in the latest release of Education Weekâs Quality Counts, which assigns letter grades to every state on a menu of education measures, to suggest that Arkansas schools ârank fifth in the country.â On the other hand, the state received a D on the Student Achievement category of Quality Counts and many Arkansans are accustomed to seeing Arkansas ranked at or near the bottom among all states on measures related to education and economic well-being. For example, on measures of college degree attainment, Arkansas regularly ranks 49th among the 50 states. So, which is it? Does the Natural State rank 5th or 49th? We believe that, while Arkansas performs admirably given the stateâs level of poverty and adult education levels, the quality of our public K-12 schools falls somewhere between these two extremes
Categorical Funding in Arkansas
As a result of the Arkansas Supreme Courtâs Lake View v. Huckabee Decision, the Public School Funding Act of 2003 established Arkansasâ current funding system. A part of the current system allocates additional funding for districts based on need (categorical funding). In doing so, the state recognizes that it is necessary to distribute additional funding based on educational need to meet adequacy and equity standards. The system allocates funding for groups of students who face particular challenges: Alternative Learning Environment students (ALE), English-language Learners (ELL), and students in poverty (National School Lunch Act). In the current legislative session, lawmakers are examining the poverty funding system (NSLA). In this brief, we examine Arkansasâ system for poverty funding and how districts spend poverty funding
2011-2012 Arkansas Test Results
On Monday, July 30, the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) released the 2011-2012 test score results. The following brief will highlight the results of these tests, compare achievement scores over time, and provide a glimpse of regional achievement results for the following exams: Benchmark Exam (Grades 3-8) End-of-Course Exam (Algebra I, Geometry, Biology, and Grade 11 Literacy). Iowa Test of Basic Skills (Grades 1-9
Traditional and Charter School Funding in Arkansas
Charter schools, once considered an anomaly, are becoming increasingly common in the U.S. There are concerns among some education stakeholders that charter schools pull funding away from traditional public schools, since a large portion of education funds follow the student to the charter school. Conversely, some argue that there are funding inequities that favor public schools. These individuals claim that since charter schools are public schools, the funds allocated to them should be the equivalent of that received by the traditional public schools. This brief examines funding of traditional and charter schools in Arkansa
Charter School Authorizers
Two types of charter schools exist in Arkansas: open-enrollment charter schools, which operate independently of any district, and district conversion charter schools, which operate within an existing school district. Charter schools have more autonomy on certain rules and regulations than traditional public schools; however, charter schools are held accountable for academic results and fiscal matters, as defined by the charters contract. Charter schools are approved and held accountable by a charter authorizer. In the 2013 General Assembly, a law passed to change Arkansasâ charter authorizer from the State Board of Education to a newly created panel within the Department of Education. The purpose of this policy brief is to provide a snapshot of charter authorizing across the United States and provide detailed information about Arkansasâ newly created Charter Authorizing Panel
2013 Legislative Review
The 89th General Assembly in Arkansas convened on Monday January 14th and would file 2,640 pieces of legislation over the next 100 days. Of this legislation, there were 145 House Bills, 4 House Resolutions, and 97 Senate Bills referred to either the House or Senate Education Committees. That is a grand total of 246 pieces of âeducationâ legislation representing roughly 9 percent of legislation filed in the session. The purpose of this policy brief is to review some of the âhigh -profileâ education bills during the session. The highlighted bills here are split into three categories: 1) school choice, 2) funding, and 3) a number of other bills of note are discussed
Houston, We have aâŠSolution?
The Arkansas Department of Education recently released the list of the lowest performing schools in Arkansasâlabeled as focus and priority schools. Now that these schools have been singled out, they will be subjected to heavy intervention. Educators and policymakers all over Arkansas have their eyes on these schools and are asking - what\u27s next? How do we turn around lower performing schools? What works? In this policy brief, we outline one particular programâthe Apollo 20 programâthat is working to turnaround achievement in lower performing schools. Early results show gains comparable with prominent charter schools in the nation, but some criticize the programâs focus on only a few particular schools rather than having a broader reach
Quality Counts 2013
In an attempt to gauge the educational progress of the nation and each state, Education Week has published state report cards since 1997 in its annual Quality Counts series. The 17 h annual report - Quality Counts 2013 - was released in January. Overall, Arkansas maintained last yearâs ranking of 5 th among the 50 states and earned the highest score of the eight states in the U.S. that received a B- (dropping from a grade of âBâ last year). This policy brief examines Arkansasâ rank in each category of the report as well as the quality of the report itself
2011-12 Arkansas Open-Enrollment Charter School Test Results
Charter schools are receiving more attention in Arkansas and across the nation, as the number of these public schools of choice in Arkansas fluctuates each year. Some charters have been closed, while new ones have been opened. Further, in many media outlets, charter schools are often lumped together as one entity. However, âcharter schoolâ is not a blanket term. They are separate schools run under separate charter documents with different operators. In Arkansas, there are two types of charter schools: conversion charter schools and openenrollment charter schools. Conversion charter schools are governed by the leadership in the district in which they are located. Openenrollment charter schools are independent of local school districts and do not enroll students from one particular district. The following policy brief focuses only on Arkansasâ openenrollment charter schools. In this brief, we aim to highlight the achievement of Arkansasâ open-enrollment charter schools, so that educators, policymakers, and others can make decisions based on the facts of Arkansasâ charter schools.
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