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Articles 1 - 22 of 22
Full-Text Articles in Education
Lake View School Funding Update, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter
Lake View School Funding Update, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter
Policy Briefs
In another landmark decision regarding school finance in Arkansas, the Arkansas Supreme Court has again declared that the state has retreated from its obligation to adequately fund public education, just as it decided in 2004 (Lake View School Dist. No. 25 v. Huckabee, 355 Ark. 617, 142 S.W.3d 643). Earlier this year, 49 school districts had requested the Court to recall its mandate and reappoint Special Masters to reopen the Lake View case and evaluate the state’s efforts to improve the adequacy of Arkansas’ school finance system (see Policy Brief 17). The court granted this request on June 9, 2005, …
Naep 2005 Results, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter
Naep 2005 Results, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter
Policy Briefs
The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), also known as “the Nation’s Report Card,” is a national assessment of what students in each state know in various subjects. The Grade 4 and 8 mathematics and reading portions of the NAEP were administered in 2005 and the results were released in mid-October. This brief fact sheet highlights the recent NAEP results and demonstrates, simply put, that the state’s students are gaining ground on the nation according to the NAEP.
Superintendents Speak Out On Education Reforms, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter
Superintendents Speak Out On Education Reforms, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter
Policy Briefs
In an effort to improve educational opportunities for all students, Arkansas has made education reforms in many areas over the past three years. The Office for Education Policy (OEP) recently distributed a confidential survey to superintendents across the state to see what kinds of successes districts are having as a result of these reforms and what challenges they still face. OEP also asked superintendents about teacher quality and supply issues in their districts, particularly in light of No Child Left Behind’s (NCLB) requirement that all schools be staffed with “highly-qualified teachers.”
A First Look At The Impacts Of District And School Consolidation, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter
A First Look At The Impacts Of District And School Consolidation, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter
Policy Briefs
For over two decades, the “fairness” of Arkansas’ educational system has been assessed by the courts. The 2002 Lake View ruling by the Arkansas Supreme Court required the state to “adequately and equitably” fund the education system. Since the Supreme Court’s decision, state policymakers and education officials have worked to rectify problems highlighted in the Lake View case. Perhaps the most controversial plan was to consolidate several of Arkansas’ school districts.
Rating The Special Masters, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter
Rating The Special Masters, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter
Policy Briefs
After the 85th General Assembly adjourned in April 2005, the Rogers School District, along with 48 other districts, filed a motion to the state Supreme Court to reopen the landmark Lake View school funding case, accusing the legislature of failing to increase school funding for the 2005-06 school year (see Policy Brief 17). The Supreme Court agreed and on June 9, 2005, reappointed former Justices Bradley D. Jesson and David Newbern as Special Masters to assess the plaintiffs’ claims. The Masters issued their report on October 3, 2005, concluding that “the state has not lived up to the promise made …
Lake View Reopened, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter
Lake View Reopened, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter
Policy Briefs
Arkansans may have thought that the decades-long fight over school funding was settled in 2002, when the state Supreme Court handed down the Lake View ruling which directed the state to “adequately and equitably” fund the education system. Since the Supreme Court’s decision, state legislators have made some strides in addressing the mandates outlined by the Court, such as increasing the state funding levels for districts and approving a plan to fund improvements to school facilities across the state.
Concurrent Enrollment Vs. Advanced Placement Courses, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter
Concurrent Enrollment Vs. Advanced Placement Courses, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter
Policy Briefs
The Lake View decision required that Arkansas schools provide a “substantially equal” curriculum to all students. The package of reforms adopted by the Arkansas General Assembly in 2003 included a measure that required high schools to offer College Board Advanced Placement (AP) courses and/or concurrent enrollment in college level courses (Act 102, §6-16- 1201-1206). Specifically, beginning with the 2008-2009 school year, all school districts are required to offer one AP course in each of the four core areas of math, English, science, and social studies for a total of four courses. In districts that do not already offer these courses, …
Arkansas School Finance 2005: Finding Funds For Facilities, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter
Arkansas School Finance 2005: Finding Funds For Facilities, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter
Policy Briefs
For the past half century, Arkansas has spent less per pupil than most other states. However, spurred in part by the State Supreme Court’s 2002 ruling that the state’s school system is “inequitable and inadequate,” the state is now strengthening its commitment to fund better educational opportunities for all students. During 2003, experts have estimated that the state will require nearly $850 million in additional funding to deliver an “adequate education” to all students in the state—a 48% increase in the state’s spending for public schools. In addition, lawmakers spent most of the past year focused on ways to finance …
Assessing Students With Disabilities: The Individuals With Disabilities Act Meets No Child Left Behind, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter
Assessing Students With Disabilities: The Individuals With Disabilities Act Meets No Child Left Behind, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter
Policy Briefs
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) (P.L. 94-142 [20 U.S.C., §1400 et seq.), authorized by Congress in 1975 and reauthorized in 1997 and 2004, guarantees all children with disabilities the right to a free appropriate public education and guarantees procedural safeguards to assure protection of the rights of these children and their parents. The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) (PL-107-110 [20 U.S.C. §6301, et seq.], 2001) requires, among other things, that schools be accountable for education results through annual standardized testing and through additional standards that determine a school’s adequate yearly progress (AYP). The 2004 reauthorization of IDEA …
2005 Legislature Considers School Facilities Improvement, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter
2005 Legislature Considers School Facilities Improvement, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter
Policy Briefs
The Arkansas 85th General Assembly is working to address the recommendations of the Arkansas Statewide Education Facilities Assessment. The report is the culmination of 18 months of work commissioned by the 2003 General Assembly to assess the adequacy and equity of public school buildings across the state. In the ongoing effort to address the mandates of the Lake View III decision, made by the Arkansas Supreme Court in November 2002, the legislature’s Joint Committee on Educational Facilities commissioned a task force to conduct a comprehensive survey of facilities, equipment, and technology. The 60-member task force, including legislators, school officials, and …
Mandated School Facilities Improvement: What Have Other States Done?, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter
Mandated School Facilities Improvement: What Have Other States Done?, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter
Policy Briefs
In most school districts, funding for the construction and improvement of school facilities comes from local property taxes, sometimes solely, and sometimes with additional state support. In nearly all states, older school buildings, especially those in low-income districts are in need of renovation or repair. When school buildings are in poor repair or otherwise inadequate with respect to the educational environment which they provide, the quality of education available to students attending those schools can be adversely affected. As a result of lawsuits addressing this concern, a number of states have faced judicial mandates stemming from constitutional challenges requiring school …
The Nieer Report: The 2004 State Preschool Yearbook Summary, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter
The Nieer Report: The 2004 State Preschool Yearbook Summary, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter
Policy Briefs
This study was conducted by the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER), a is a unit of Rutgers University, which supports early childhood education policy by providing objective, nonpartisan, information based on research. The 2004 State Preschool Yearbook is the second report in a NIEER series evaluating state-funded preschool programs. It describes state-funded prekindergarten in the 2002-2003 school year. Tracking these trends is essential, since the role states play in preschool education will increasingly affect how successfully America’s next generation will compete in the knowledge economy. The State Preschool Yearbooks were developed by NIEER to serve as a resource …
Charter School Research, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter
Charter School Research, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter
Policy Briefs
In recent months, several studies on charter schools have been rushed to the press: some claiming their effectiveness at improving student achievement, others declaring the exact opposite. What are we to make out of these conflicting reports?
Quality Education Act Of 2003, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter
Quality Education Act Of 2003, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter
Policy Briefs
In 2003, the Arkansas General Assembly enacted a bill intended to implement at the state level the requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind Act. This measure updated the Quality Education Act of 1983. Designated as Act 1467 of 2003 and cited in the Arkansas Code as “The Quality Education Act of 2003” (§ 6-15-201-209), the measure often is referred to as “the Omnibus Act.” Addressed primarily to the State Board of Education and the Arkansas Department of Education, it speaks to the following areas: • Development of state accreditation regulations and standards; • Notification of schools failing to …
Education Week’S Report On Arkansas, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter
Education Week’S Report On Arkansas, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter
Policy Briefs
As schools open their doors for the spring 2005 semester, many legislatures around the nation are meeting to discuss accountability standards, equity and adequacy issues, and the link between money and student performance. While the education issues of 2005 are not unique, in that they have been discussed for years, the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) deadline for schools to begin performing at higher standards increases the urgency. In addition to the increased standards, state policymakers are facing difficult legal challenges to their school funding systems. In an attempt to gauge the status of the nation and each state, Education …
Alternative Certification, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter
Alternative Certification, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter
Policy Briefs
The term “alternative certification” has been utilized to describe programs ranging from immediate issuance of emergency certification to well-developed, highly professional training programs designed to bring new people into the profession. Because of the mandate to place highly qualified teachers in every classroom, the issue of alternative certification has become even more prominent and there is now more consistency in the academic rigor of alternative certification program across the nation. In this state, TeachArkansas serves as a clearinghouse for the various programs that enable an individual who did not out to be a teacher to become certified (see www.teacharkansas.org).
Teacher Quality And Preparation, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter
Teacher Quality And Preparation, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter
Policy Briefs
The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act mandates that states require all teachers to earn full certification and demonstrate competency in the subject area in which they teach. But do these requirements really produce effective teachers— teachers who actually improve student learning and achievement? The existing research base is decidedly mixed, highly politicized, and often just plain confusing. Some experts maintain that teachers’ pedagogical knowledge shows even stronger relationships to teaching effectiveness than their subject matter knowledge (Darling-Hammond, 1997; Darling-Hammond & Youngs, 2002); others insist that teachers’ expertise in their content area is a far better predictor of student achievement …
Education Facilities Report, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter
Education Facilities Report, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter
Policy Briefs
The Arkansas Statewide Education Facilities Assessment is the culmination of 18 months of work commissioned by the Arkansas General Assembly to assess the adequacy and equity of public school buildings across the state. In the ongoing effort to address the mandates of the Lake View III decision, made by the Arkansas Supreme Court in November 2002, the legislature’s Joint Committee on Educational Facilities commissioned a task force to conduct a comprehensive survey of facilities, equipment, and technology. The 60-member task force, including legislators, school officials, and state department officials, together with architects, engineers, business leaders, and interested citizens, contracted with …
The Salary Debate, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter
The Salary Debate, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter
Policy Briefs
In America, teacher compensation has undergone major changes over the last 200 years. Throughout much of the early 19th century, teachers were often paid with room and board within a community and taught all grades. Around 1921, a form of the single salary schedule still in use today was implemented (Protsik, 1995), where teachers’ salaries were linked to their educational background and their years in the field. Like the salaries of most other public officials, however, teachers’ salaries shift with changing social, economic, and political climates. The pay rate for teachers is also influenced by a number of variables (e.g. …
Teacher Shortages In Arkansas, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter
Teacher Shortages In Arkansas, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter
Policy Briefs
Over the past decade, we’ve heard time and again the dire warning that a major teacher shortage is imminent in our public schools. But is this really the case? Teacher education programs actually produce enough teachers each year to compensate for those who retire. Rather, some researchers suggest that we have focused too much on teacher shortages (the inability to recruit enough teachers) and not enough on teacher attrition (losing teachers already in the field). According to the National Center for Education Statistics’ (NCES) latest School and Staffing Survey (SASS), about one-third of teachers quit during their first three years, …
The Nclb Debate: Strengths And Weaknesses Of No Child Left Behind, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter
The Nclb Debate: Strengths And Weaknesses Of No Child Left Behind, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter
Policy Briefs
NCLB: Education’s Panacea or Disaster? Will NCLB have a revolutionary impact on America’s schools? Is NCLB an unfunded mandate? Will NCLB strengthen teaching or demoralize the teaching profession? Will NCLB finally provide equitable education for minorities and low-income students or worsen disparities in education? Since NCLB passed in 2001, pundits, educators, and elected officials have asked these questions, expressing and sometimes exaggerating some of the real strengths and weaknesses of the legislation. The following section highlights some of the most controversial points in the legislation, mostly taken from an outline articulated by the former Assistant Secretary of Education for President …
2003-04 Education Special Session, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter
2003-04 Education Special Session, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter
Policy Briefs
On December 8, 2003 the Arkansas General Assembly convened in a special session called by the Governor for the purpose of developing a plan to address the court mandate in the Lake View case before the mandated January 1, 2004 deadline. Legislators in both chambers debated a number of plans concerning the relationship between a school’s size and its quality and cost efficiency (e.g. – consolidation of smaller high schools into larger ones) as well as the best means of monitoring student assessment and school accountability. Finally, they turned their attention to funding formulas and potential sources of new revenue …