Education Commons^™

National Assessment Of Educational Progress (Naep) Results For 2015, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter

Policy Briefs

The National Center for Education Statistics has released this year’s NAEP results which measure nationwide student performance in 4th and 8th grade Reading and Math. NAEP is administered nationally to a representative sample of students from all 50 states, so acts as a standard measure of student performance across states and time. This policy brief will examine Arkansas’ 2015 results and consider possible causes and implications.

Education Funding Equity In Arkansas, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter

Policy Briefs

Thanks to the landmark Lake View case, Arkansas has doubled-down on its commitment to ensuring an equitable education to all students. This brief examines the equity of current education spending in Arkansas.

Education Funding Adequacy In Arkansas, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter

Policy Briefs

Over the past decade and a half, Arkansas has made enormous strides in ensuring that every child in the state is has access to a quality learning experience. This brief examines the adequacy of current education spending in Arkansas

The State Of Education In Arkansas 2015 – How Much Are Arkansas’ Schools Spending?, Elise Swanson, Gary W. Ritter, Sarah C. Mckenzie

Arkansas Education Reports

When considering the quality of an education system, it is important to understand the resources available to students. Without proper resources, schools are unable to provide a quality educational experience, and students leave school unprepared to be fulfilled, productive members of society. School funding is therefore an important, and often controversial, topic in education policy. Arkansas’ public education system first ran into constitutional trouble over school funding in 1983 when the Supreme Court decided in Dupree v. Alma that the school funding formula was unconstitutional because it was based on valuations of the local tax base, not on the needs …

Second Year Results From Razor C.O.A.C.H., Sarah Moore, Josh Raney, Gary W. Ritter, Kristin K. Higgins

Arkansas Education Reports

In this paper, we present the results of a random assignment evaluation on the Razor C.O.A.C.H. (Creating Opportunities for Arkansan’s Career Hopes) program. As the program started in the 2012-13 school year, this evaluation analyzes the impact of the program in its second year of operation and includes two cohorts of students. The focus of the comprehensive evaluation is the impacts of the program on students’ academic outcomes, short-term noncognitive outcomes, short-term college and career readiness outcomes, and post-secondary outcomes.

Outstanding Educational Performance Awards: Highlighting High-Achieving Arkansas Schools, 2015, Charlene A. Reid, Gary W. Ritter

Arkansas Education Reports

In this report, we are presenting a list of the top 25 schools in each area. In some cases, these “top 25 lists” will contain more than 25 schools as some schools’ GPA scores will be identical. This is not a new phenomenon, as we also exceeded 25 schools in previous reports when using the percent proficient and advanced metric as an indicator for student achievement; however, there are fewer ties using the more precise GPA measure.

Science exams were only administered in grades 5, 7, and to students completing Biology. There are very different performance patterns by grade: Fifth …

Outstanding Educational Performance Awards: Highlighting High-Achieving Arkansas Schools, 2015, Charlene A. Reid, Gary W. Ritter

Arkansas Education Reports

In this report, we are presenting a list of the top 25 schools in each area. In some cases, these “top 25 lists” will contain more than 25 schools as some schools’ GPA scores will be identical. This is not a new phenomenon, as we also exceeded 25 schools in previous reports when using the percent proficient and advanced metric as an indicator for student achievement; however, there are fewer ties using the more precise GPA measure.

Science exams were only administered in grades 5, 7, and to students completing Biology. There are very different performance patterns by grade: Fifth …

Outstanding Educational Performance Awards: Highlighting High-Achieving Arkansas Schools, 2015, Charlene A. Reid, Gary W. Ritter

Arkansas Education Reports

In this report, we are presenting a list of the top 25 schools in each area. In some cases, these “top 25 lists” will contain more than 25 schools as some schools’ GPA scores will be identical. This is not a new phenomenon, as we also exceeded 25 schools in previous reports when using the percent proficient and advanced metric as an indicator for student achievement; however, there are fewer ties using the more precise GPA measure.

Science exams were only administered in grades 5, 7, and to students completing Biology. There are very different performance patterns by grade: Fifth …

Outstanding Educational Performance Awards: Highlighting High-Achieving Arkansas Schools, 2015, Charlene A. Reid, Gary W. Ritter

Arkansas Education Reports

In this report, we are presenting a list of the top 25 schools in each area. In some cases, these “top 25 lists” will contain more than 25 schools as some schools’ GPA scores will be identical. This is not a new phenomenon, as we also exceeded 25 schools in previous reports when using the percent proficient and advanced metric as an indicator for student achievement; however, there are fewer ties using the more precise GPA measure.

Science exams were only administered in grades 5, 7, and to students completing Biology. There are very different performance patterns by grade: Fifth …

Outstanding Educational Performance Awards: Highlighting High-Achieving Arkansas Schools, 2015, Charlene A. Reid, Gary W. Ritter

Arkansas Education Reports

In this report, we are presenting a list of the top 25 schools in each area. In some cases, these “top 25 lists” will contain more than 25 schools as some schools’ GPA scores will be identical. This is not a new phenomenon, as we also exceeded 25 schools in previous reports when using the percent proficient and advanced metric as an indicator for student achievement; however, there are fewer ties using the more precise GPA measure.

Science exams were only administered in grades 5, 7, and to students completing Biology. There are very different performance patterns by grade: Fifth …

Arkansas Science Benchmark, Eoc Biology And Itbs Test Results 2014-15, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter

Policy Briefs

The Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) has released the 2014-15 Benchmark Science and ITBS (Iowa Test of Basic Skills) results. PARCC results of Literacy and Math will be released later this fall. The following brief highlights the results of these tests, compares achievement scores over time, and provides a glimpse of regional achievement results for the following exams:  Benchmark Science Exam (Grades 5 and 7)  End-of-Course Biology Exam  Iowa Test of Basic Skills (Grades 1 and 2)

Aspire In Arkansas?, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter

Policy Briefs

On June 22, 2015, Governor Hutchinson communicated with Johnny Key, State Commissioner of Education, his request for the state’s removal from PARCC by June 30th. This back and forth over student assessment has raised many questions for educators, students, and parents. This brief will review the history behind annual assessments, address the differences between PARCC and ACT/ACT Aspire, and suggest the scores Arkansas’ students would receive if ACT Aspire is administered next school year

Teacher Survey: Common Core Standards, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter

Policy Briefs

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for K-12 English language arts (ELA) and mathematics were adopted by the Arkansas State Board of Education in July 2010. Teachers have been implementing CCSS in their classrooms for several years, and this spring students across the state are being assessed on CCSS through the PARCC assessments. In February 2015, Governor Hutchinson announced the formation of a Council on Common Core Review, and the Office for Education Policy began a survey of Arkansas public school teachers to gather their opinions on this important topic. In this brief, we will share the preliminary findings from …

2015 Legislative Summary, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter

Policy Briefs

The 90th General Assembly opened its Regular Session on January 12 and recessed on April 9. Meetings of the House and Senate education committees were usually standing room only for discussions of a broad range of bills on early childhood, K-12, and higher education issues. The purpose of this policy brief is to review the K-12 bills that garnered the most attention and have been signed into law by firstterm Governor Asa Hutchinson. These highlights are organized into several categories as shown in This Brief

Grading Arkansas’ Schools, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter

Policy Briefs

Report Cards for Arkansas schools released by the Arkansas Department of Education contain valuable information for stakeholders. As in past years, the report cards outline student demographics and academic achievement, as well as rates of attendance, graduation, dropout, grade inflation and college remediation. Report cards also contain information on teacher quality and school environment indicators. There are a few new pieces of information provided this year, specifically a school rating which assigns a letter grade to schools.

Broadband Access In Arkansas Schools, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter

Policy Briefs

With the computer-based Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Career (PARCC) test, the Arkansas Digital Learning Act, and Governor Hutchinson’s efforts to increase participation in computer science courses, the Arkansas Legislature is discussing actions to take in order to close the “digital divide” in the state. This brief will explore the technological requirements of providing the recommended bandwidth to schools, the barriers to the provision of that service, and potential steps for the Arkansas Department of Education to take in order to ensure that every Arkansas student has fast, consistent access to the Internet to support their learning.

2014 Northwest Arkansas Report Card, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary Ritter

Education Report Card

Northwest Arkansas continues to lead the state of Arkansas in K-12 education. This report card presents a regional overview as well as key performance indicators for each district.

Creation Of The Achievement School District: House Bill 1733, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter

Policy Briefs

Education leaders throughout the country are working to identify successful strategies for turning persistently low performing schools into successful schools. One strategy undertaken in Louisiana, Michigan, and Tennessee is the creation of a unique school district for the most academically distressed schools. In this brief, we review the programs in other states and examine House Bill 1733, which proposes the creation of such a district in Arkansas for schools or districts in academic distress

The Waivers Sought By Arkansas Charters: Should They Be Extended To All?, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter

Policy Briefs

Should traditional public school districts be allowed to use the same waivers as nearby charter schools? Perhaps the flexibility afforded to charters might be helpful for all schools by allowing them to become nimble, responsive organizations, less governed by inertia and more guided by innovation. House Bill 1377 proposes such an extension of waivers. In this brief, we examine the most common waivers that charter schools request to assess what types of waivers could be available to traditional public schools if House Bill 1377 were signed into law.

2014 Arkansas Report Card, Gary Ritter

Education Report Card

The Office for Education Policy is pleased to bring you its 2014 Arkansas Report Card highlighting our students’ educational performance through the 2013-2014 academic year. We hope that this year’s edition is informative and helpful in furthering the conversation that surrounds our education system.

Impacts Of Public School Choice Act Of 2013, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter

Policy Briefs

The Public School Choice Act of 2013 (Act 1227) allows students to transfer to a nonresident district. Previous school choice law restrictions based on race, were removed in the new law. As a result, concerns have been raised about the possible negative impacts of choice on districts’ racial balance. This brief addresses these concerns by examining the impact of the Public School Choice Act of 2013 on district enrollment and racial integration.

Quality Counts 2015, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter

Policy Briefs

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 19 th annual report - Quality Counts 2015 - was released in January. Overall, Arkansas received an grade of C– and was ranked 36th among the 50 states. This policy brief examines Arkansas’ rank in each category of the report as well as the quality of the report itself.

Does Financial Literacy Contribute To Food Security?, Katherine Grace Carman, Gema Zamarro

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

Food insecurity, not having consistent access to adequate food for active, healthy lives for all household members is most common among low income households. However, income alone is not sufficient to explain who experiences food insecurity. This study investigates the relationship between financial literacy and food security. We find that low income households who exhibit financial literacy are less likely to experience food insecurity.