Arkansas

To transform struggling schools into successful environments for teaching and learning, more emphasis needs to be placed on seeking partnerships among groups at the federal and local level. This brief examines the federal policy for intervening in low-achieving schools and suggests a different approach for "turning around" struggling schools.

A new analysis by the National Center for Education Statistics of scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reviews the achievement gaps between Hispanic and White public school students at the state and national levels. While reading and mathematics scores for both Hispanics and Whites increased between 1990 and 2009, the achievement gaps remained stable at 21 points for fourth-grade mathematics and 26 points for fourth-grade reading. A previous report analyzes the NAEP achievement gap between Black and White students. 

Summer learning programs can help children improve their academics, especially students from low-income families who may not have access to educational resources in the summer, and low-achieving students who need additional time to master academic materials. This report, conducted by RAND Education and sponsored by The Wallace Foundation, finds evidence of the effectiveness of summer learning programs and offers specific recommendations on how school districts can overcome barriers to establishing them so that all children have access to enrichment opportunities.

Each year, more than 1 million students drop of high school while still thousands more – the majority of whom are students of color and low-income students – graduate without the high-quality education they need to succeed in college, the workplace and in life. In a compelling new report, “The Plan for Success,” the Campaign for High School Equity has outlined the crisis and defined solutions that will require changes in policy and practice to help transform our high schools to ensure every student, regardless of race, ethnicity, ZIP code or socioeconomic status, has an opportunity to learn in a high-quality public school.

The Great Recession left nearly all states with severe budget deficits as state tax revenues plummeted. Simultaneously, there has been a dramatic increase in demand for public services as families also struggle to stay afloat. These budget realities have forced at least 21 states to propose deep cuts in pre-kindergarten and K-12 spending. United for a Fair Economy recently published a report that takes a state’s current distribution of state and local taxes by income quintile and flips the quintiles to make a regressive tax structure progressive. This model results in significant revenue for states that could be used to fully fund education, job growth and other economic stimulants.

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An analysis of Arkansas benchmark test scores from the 2008‐09 academic year shows that open enrollment charter schools score better than their peer public schools on standardized tests, but that this success is driven by the distinct demographic characteristics of the charters rather than being attributable to any advantage of educational strategy.