UALR and Gov. Mike Beebe today are touting the “astounding” improvement of Advanced Placement test scores by students in a UALR-based effort to improve scores in math, science and English.

The release is on the jump. It lacks a critical detail — the pass rate at these schools before and after the astounding improvements.

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For example, a 100 percent increase was recorded by black and Hispanic females in math and science scores on AP tests of 3 or higher. Sounds good. But what if only one student in the schools had scored at that level previously, but now two have? That’s a 100 percent increase, but nothing to brag about if there were, say, 100 students in that category. I’ve asked for more information.

UPDATE: Program director Tommie Sue Anthony provided a few details as she drove back from a Fort Smith news conference and the numbers she provided back up the upbeat assessment.

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Here’s another way to look at it:

Between 2006 and 2010, the number of Arkansas students scoring at 3 or higher on the AP tests rose from 61 per 1,000 tests to 86 per 1,000. Nationally, the number rose from 92 to 115. But in the schools in the UALR program, the first 10 schools went from a pass rate of 113 per thousand in 2008 to 115 in 2009 and 191 in 2010. The second group of 14 schools went from 88 per 1,000 in 2009 to 140 per thousand in 2010. “Our schools are outstripping the state and nation,” Anthony said.

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“What excites me,” she said, “is that our schools are truly representative of Arkansas.” That is they include rural schools with limited courses and larger schools. “We don’t have the raw scores some schools do to start with, but we’re seeing immense improvement in all. That is the exciting thing.” One specific example: A year ago, Hamburg High had 10 scores of 3 or better on the three types of AP tets. That number jumped to 40 this year, among about 300 exams.

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