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University of Arkansas, Fayetteville

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Articles 61 - 75 of 75

Full-Text Articles in Education Law

Adequate Yearly Progress In Arkansas 2009-10, Nathan C. Jensen, Gary W. Ritter Dec 2010

Adequate Yearly Progress In Arkansas 2009-10, Nathan C. Jensen, Gary W. Ritter

Policy Briefs

At the end of October, the Arkansas Department of Education released annual adequate yearly progress (AYP) figures for Arkansas schools. These results are based on benchmark and end-of-course test scores in math and literacy for both overall populations and subgroups within schools. They are used to determine whether a school meets state standards and, given their performance in the most recent two years, whether they are placed in the "school improvement" category

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High School End-Of-Course Exams Show Proficiency Gains For 2010, Nathan C. Jensen, Gary W. Ritter Sep 2010

High School End-Of-Course Exams Show Proficiency Gains For 2010, Nathan C. Jensen, Gary W. Ritter

Policy Briefs

In July, the ADE released results for the 2009-10 end-ofcourse (EOC) exams given in Algebra I, Geometry, and Biology administered in April 2010. These results followed the Grade 11 Literacy results released in June. First, we present statewide 2010 results compared to last year. Second, test scores are examined across the state by districts' region, poverty level, and size. Third, we consider the performance of Arkansas students on other assessments to see if these results are consistent with EOC results.

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Act 60: The Past, Present, And Future Of School Consolidation In Arkansas, Nathan C. Jensen, Gary W. Ritter Sep 2010

Act 60: The Past, Present, And Future Of School Consolidation In Arkansas, Nathan C. Jensen, Gary W. Ritter

Policy Briefs

Since its passage in 2004, Arkansas’ Act 60 has had a major impact on the smallest school districts in Arkansas. The law requires school districts to be consolidated if their enrollment drops below 350 for two consecutive years. This policy brief will report on the numbers and types of schools and districts that have closed since the passage of Act 60. Moreover, the brief will evaluate the enrollment trends to predict which school districts are “at-risk” of being consolidated for dropping below the 350 student threshold established by Act 60. The data for this policy brief is excerpted from a …

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Test Scores Show More Students Scoring Proficient Or Advanced In 2010, Nathan C. Jensen, Gary W. Ritter Jun 2010

Test Scores Show More Students Scoring Proficient Or Advanced In 2010, Nathan C. Jensen, Gary W. Ritter

Policy Briefs

In mid-June, the ADE released the results of the 2009-10 standardized achievement tests, including the Arkansas Benchmark and SAT-10 exams for students in grades 3- 8 and the End-of-Course (EOC) Literacy exam for students in grade 11. The following policy brief will highlight the current performance of all Arkansas students, the performance for particular subgroups of students, and finally the changes in achievement over time.

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How Did Arkansas Fare In The Race To The Top?, Nathan C. Jensen, Gary W. Ritter Apr 2010

How Did Arkansas Fare In The Race To The Top?, Nathan C. Jensen, Gary W. Ritter

Policy Briefs

In late March, the winners for Round 1 of the federal Race to the Top (RttT) were announced. The competitive grant funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment (ARRA) was described in more detail in an OEP policy brief posted here . In January, Arkansas joined 40 other states in submitting an application. When the finalists were announced, Arkansas was ranked 17th and just missed the cut! In this policy brief, we provide a brief overview of how the Arkansas application fared and what our state leaders could do to increase our chances for Round Two.

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National Standards: Following The Pendulum Of Debate, Nathan C. Jensen, Gary W. Ritter Apr 2010

National Standards: Following The Pendulum Of Debate, Nathan C. Jensen, Gary W. Ritter

Policy Briefs

In March, the Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSSI) released drafts of the proposed National Standards for K-12 education in English Language Arts and Literacy, History/Social Studies, Science, and Math. The draft standards were developed in collaboration with teachers, school administrators, and experts with the goal of providing a clear and consistent framework to develop “college or career ready” students. In this draft, the authors attempt to define knowledge and skills students that high school graduates need for entry-level, credit bearing academic college courses and workforce training programs.

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Reauthorizing No Child Left Behind: The Obama Blueprint, Nathan C. Jensen, Gary W. Ritter Apr 2010

Reauthorizing No Child Left Behind: The Obama Blueprint, Nathan C. Jensen, Gary W. Ritter

Policy Briefs

Almost 45 years ago to this day, the federal government enacted the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) on April 11, 1965. The Act, which provided funds for professional development, instructional materials, resources to support educational programs, and promoted parental involvement in primary and secondary education, has been reauthorized about every five years since its enactment. The current version, known more commonly as the No Child Left Behind Act, is now up for reauthorization. The following policy brief will describe the development of the Act into its current form, discuss the major components of No Child Left Behind, and highlight …

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2009 Naep Reading Results, Nathan C. Jensen, Gary W. Ritter Apr 2010

2009 Naep Reading Results, Nathan C. Jensen, 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 2009. We highlighted the math results, which were released last fall, in the 2009 Arkansas Report Card (http://www.uark.edu/ua/oep/report_cards/2009_Report Card.pdf). The 2009 reading scores were released at the end of March, 2010. This policy brief highlights the recent NAEP reading results and demonstrates, bluntly, that growth has stagnated both in the U.S. and Arkansas.

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Algebra For All?, Nathan C. Jensen, Gary W. Ritter Feb 2010

Algebra For All?, Nathan C. Jensen, Gary W. Ritter

Policy Briefs

In Arkansas, students graduate from high school at a relatively high rate – 72% versus the national rate of 69%. However, according to the ACT, only 35% of Arkansas graduates are ready for college-level work (based on Arkansas’ College Readiness Benchmark Scores). Our state's rate of completion from college also ranks below the national average (See Table 3.5 in OEP’s report card here). There is a strong correlation between the successful completion of an algebra course and readiness for college-level work. Because of this, there has been a great deal of interest recently in the question of whether educators in …

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Charter School Review In Arkansas And Across The Nation, Nathan C. Jensen, Gary W. Ritter Jan 2010

Charter School Review In Arkansas And Across The Nation, Nathan C. Jensen, Gary W. Ritter

Policy Briefs

At the most recent State Board of Education meeting, State Education Commissioner Tom Kimbrell addressed the need for more monitoring of charter schools to ensure that these schools meet their stated goals, including the types of students they intend to serve and the scope of the schools’ curricula. Additionally, he noted that the current process for reviewing applications for charter schools is inadequate, and acknowledged the need for a more systematic review process. As a result, Dr. Kimbrell reported that the state is planning to create a charter review council that will serve two important functions: reviewing charter applications prior …

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Quality Counts 2010: Arkansas Holds Steady, Nathan C. Jensen, Gary W. Ritter Jan 2010

Quality Counts 2010: Arkansas Holds Steady, Nathan C. Jensen, 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 14th annual report - Quality Counts 2010 - was released in January. Four of the six categories (Chance for Success, School Finance, The Teaching Profession, and Standards, Assessment and Accountability) were updated to reflect the most current (2010) data. Arkansas received the highest possible grade (A) in the Standards, Assessments & Accountability category, receiving perfect scores in the subcategories for Standards and School Accountability. Similarly, Arkansas' grade for Transitions and …

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Recognizing The Accomplishments Of Ade Commissioner Ken James, Nathan C. Jensen, Gary W. Ritter Sep 2009

Recognizing The Accomplishments Of Ade Commissioner Ken James, Nathan C. Jensen, Gary W. Ritter

Policy Briefs

This summer, Dr. Ken James announced his resignation as Education Commissioner at the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE). Dr. James’ last day was June 30, 2009 and Diana Julian stepped in as interim commissioner. Today, Governor Mike Beebe announced Tom Kimbrell as his choice for the next commissioner. As we await the official appointment of the new commissioner, the OEP felt it was appropriate to highlight Dr. James’ contributions to Arkansas education.

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Oep Welcomes New Commissioner: Tom Kimbrell, Nathan C. Jensen, Gary W. Ritter Sep 2009

Oep Welcomes New Commissioner: Tom Kimbrell, Nathan C. Jensen, Gary W. Ritter

Policy Briefs

The Office for Education Policy is excited to welcome the new Arkansas Education Commissioner – Dr. Tom Kimbrell.

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What Is Highly Qualified For Arkansas Teachers?, Nathan C. Jensen, Gary W. Ritter Aug 2009

What Is Highly Qualified For Arkansas Teachers?, Nathan C. Jensen, Gary W. Ritter

Policy Briefs

In response to the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, state departments of education, including the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE), established rules to define a “highly qualified” teacher (HQT). While the spirit of this provision is clear and reasonable, the devil is, of course, in the details. That is, what exactly does highly qualified mean? Observers had good reason to be suspicious early on when many states claimed to have 95% or more of teachers being highly qualified. (For instance, according to Education Commission of the States, 100% of North Dakota teachers are considered highly qualified and 14 …

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Competing In The Federal Race To The Top, Nathan C. Jensen, Gary W. Ritter Aug 2009

Competing In The Federal Race To The Top, Nathan C. Jensen, Gary W. Ritter

Policy Briefs

The federal Race to the Top is a national competition between states intended to support education reform and innovation in classrooms. States at the forefront of school reform are eligible to compete for $4.3 billion in Race to the Top grants. Since this is a competitive grant, it is possible that some states will not receive awards, and President Obama assures that “politics won’t come into play.”

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