Thursday, January 12, 2012
Education Arkansas ranks No. 5 in education survey. Huh?
Posted by Max Brantley on Thu, Jan 12, 2012 at 2:50 PM
The Arkansas Education Department trumpets a ranking putting Arkansas No. 5 in the nation in the Quality Counts education survey and state Rep. Clark Hall of Marvell, a candidate for 1st District Congress, coincidentally weighs in moments later with a news release trumpeting the good work, no thanks to those no-goodniks in Washington that he seeks to join.
Shoot this old cynical head. But if we're so good in education, how come we're so far behind in so many categories?
PS — Dig into the full report and you'll find such nuggets as this: On K-12 student achievement, Arkansas gets a D. I probably don't need to remind you of the state's low score on the NAEP tests.
The news releases follow:
STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT
Arkansas Ranks Fifth in Latest Education Analysis Published by Education Week
LITTLE ROCK — Governor Mike Beebe announced today that Arkansas's public education system placed fifth nationally in the 2012 Quality Counts analysis by Education Week, a nationally respected journal of education policy.
"I am excited by Arkansas's continued rise in the Education Week rankings, but there is more hard work ahead of us," Beebe said. "We've come a long way as a state in our pursuit of academic excellence, and we'll continue making improvements that help our students and our state's future."
Arkansas ranked sixth last year and 10th the previous two years in Education Week's annual calculations. The analysis ranks states on six education policy and performance categories.
"We're very pleased about the latest sign of Arkansas's advancement in education," said Arkansas Education Commissioner Dr. Tom Kimbrell. "To be ranked fifth in the nation indicates that good things are happening in Arkansas schools. Educators and policy makers across the country are taking notice. These are OUR kids. We take very seriously our responsibility to serve each and every child in Arkansas."
Overall, Arkansas scored 81.6, which placed it behind only Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, and Virginia.
Of particular note, Arkansas tied for first with Maryland in the "Transitions and Alignment" category.
Arkansas placed second in the "Teaching Profession" category. It placed sixth in the "Standards, Assessment and Accountability" category. Other categories scored were "School Finance," "K-12 Achievement," and "Chance for Success."
The analysis was compiled by the Editorial Projects in Education Research Center. It surveyed the country's chief state school officers on a wide range of programs and policy and then independently evaluated the responses.
CLARK HALL NEWS RELEASE
State Representative Clark Hall, candidate for Congress in Arkansas’s First District, released the following statement today on Arkansas’s continued rise in national education rankings.
“Today, Education Week Magazine puts Arkansas public education at fifth in the nation. That didn’t happen because someone from Washington came down here and did it for us. We did it for ourselves, rolling up our sleeves and making tough choices. Washington could learn a lot from what we’ve done in Arkansas. Hard work and the willingness to make tough choices are the values and principles I’ll take to Congress as our next Representative from the First Congressional District.
“This announcement is a victory for our hardworking students, teachers and parents. They deserve the credit. We cannot rest, and we must continue to improve K -12 education in Arkansas. It’s the right thing to do for our communities, kids and grandkids. It’s also the best way to bring more 21st Century jobs here to East Arkansas.
Speaking of...
-
Former Democratic leaders back Ellington
May 4, 2012Todd Turner and Jason Willett, both former Arkansas Democratic Party chairs, have signed a mailer endorsing Scott Ellington in the Democratic primary for 1st District Congress and urging contributions to the Jonesboro prosecutor's campaign. /more/
-
Clark Hall gets presumptuous
March 16, 2012State Rep. Clark Hall, one of three Democratic candidates for Congress, has been elusive on getting nailed down for a debate with primary opponents Scott Ellington and Gary Latanich. /more/
-
The Tuesday night line
March 6, 2012ROUNDUP: Bruce Bartlett on beleaguered rich people. Misogyny among liberals. Republican hypocrisy. Congressional debates. /more/
-
Prosecutor Ellington plans 1st District race
February 29, 2012This just in from Mariah Hatta, a political consultant and former director of the Arkansas Democratic Party. /more/
- More »
Comments (18)
Showing 1-18 of 18
What an absolute joke. Here is the state score breakdown -
http://www.edweek.org/ew/qc/2012/16src.h31…
Chance for Success - C-
Early Foundations - C
School Years - C-
Adult Outcomes - D+
K-12 Achievement - D
Status - F
Change - C-
Equity - C
Our score goes up due to criteria that's less important in which we score high on.
Laughable.
like
dislike
“Arkansas ranks No. 5 in education survey.”
SPLENDID news! This means the fellers and gals who dress in good suits need no longer worry about education reform! And charter schools! Ya think?
A "D" in K-12 achievement, and we're 6th!! As I recall, this survey is all about having the proper policies and procedures in place, and actual results are, well, downgraded. ... Worthless.
See! I knew those former coaches now in administrative positions would pay off eventually. Rah, rah, rah.
Last I heard, 85% of every tax dollar I pay to the state of Arkansas goes to education. For that kind of money, we better damned well have something to show for it.
Sadly, on the most important factor-- student achievement, we got a "D". That is the true test of an education system.
Sounds like the data analyses were completed by the Walton University Department of Education Reform...
Brad, you heard very wrong. During the Fiscal Year ended June 30, 2011, Arkansas spent 31.7% of its budget on education from K-12 through college. You can easily Google the numbers ("Arkansas state budget")- $20.8 billion in total expenditures of which $6.8 billion went to education.
And of that $20.8 billion in total expenditures a whopping $6.8 billion came from the federal government, or 32.7%.
Masewake, you might google NORMES (best in the nation). I'm afraid too many of you guys aren't looking at the entire picture. I would challenge you to look back to 1999 and go forward from there, checking results and see if there has been progress. If you do so, I think most of you will be pleasantly surprised.
sorry, mrp. . .07, this cannot be spun to be anything other than what it is--pure bullshit. Having put up with the alleged primary/secondary education "system" in this state since 1974, I can see nothing other than the same old wine in a shabby new bottle.
Not sure about 5th in the nation, but Arkansas has come a long way in the last 20 years. While other states have went in the other direction. BTW I thought we were for public education on this blog, if so we should take any amount of good news. The comments on this thread so far is making the case for more charter schools.
Is they, Independent?
Personally, I wouldn't have went so far.
I have been a student at one of the High Speed Universities online since August 2009 and it has been an answer to my prayers. Their assessments and papers are NO easy task, so for those who say online schools are "dummed down" are highly mistaken.
This is a ranking of policies, and for being progressive in setting education policy, Arkansas has done a wonderful job in last 10 years or so. It takes awhile for the other measures to catch up. I don't know many people who started a diet and reached their weight goal right away, or started playing piano, tennis, what have you, and reached the desired results immediately. We've got a ways to go, sure, but we've done a good job designing an appropriate road map.
But which policies, exactly, were deemed to be so praiseworthy? I wonder how much the presence of the "peerless" Walton Department of Education Reform at the UA, with its obnoxious and blustery professors who think nothing of criticizing their peers in the 'real world' of education had to do with the high ranking?
If Arkansas spent REAL money on education we would have first-class schools even in the poorest parts of the state. Here in NW Arkansas it's common knowledge in the education field that there's a great disparity in pay from one town to another. Springdale, according to several teachers I know, offers the highest pay on average in the state. Pretty good for a chicken town. Here in Fayetteville we have some high-achieving students but the pay is significantly lower. Bentonville is on the increase and may meet or exceed Springdale soon, assuming the depression ends in the next few years.
Contrast that with some school districts I've heard about in south and east Arkansas where the schools' physical plants are crumbling, along with teacher morale. The pay is abysmally low and the community support is hard to find except in the few wealthier enclaves.
And the story is much of the same for the state's 'higher' education system, such as it is. We have 'universities' all over the state, yet none are coordinated in their programs and all appear to be small-town fiefdoms representative precisely of the wealthier elements of the community and, in the case of UA-Fayetteville, of the state.
A couple years back I read of a study of the NCAA schools where they compared the size of each school's overall athletic budget to the school's total annual budget. Now here's one ranking where Arkansas (UA) came in first! With a whopping 49% (as I recall) of UA funding, our sacred Razorbacks showed the world where this state's educational priorities really are.
Of course, if the powers-that-be were really interested in education and not in funding semi-professional men's football and basketball, the Razorback Foundation would donate 50 cents of every dollar of revenue to the university's general fund. Or maybe to an endowed professorship in each academic department. Or something. (I wonder why they don't just spin the Athletic Department off and convert it into a church?)
More by Author
-
Two LR cops busted in federal marijuana sting
Late-breaking news from the federal courthouse: Two Little Rock police officers, half-brothers Mark Jones and Randall Robinson, have been arrested for roles in a plan to distribute more than 1,000 pounds of marijuana and use of a firearm in the course of a crime.
- May 24, 2012
-
Little Rock angle in report on the end of black caddies
I'm sure Jim Harris at Arkansas Sports 360 was all over this, but my interesting reading yesterday included this New York Times sports feature about the vanishing black golf caddy.
- Apr 4, 2012
- More »
Event Calendar
-
Re: Surgeon general strikes deal on disturbance charges
I hope it's not lost on anyone how close this incident was to the robbery/murder…
- on May 25, 2012
-
Re: Hurst fined again by bar committee for late filing
Hahaha. Partisanship invalidates opinions? This, coming from folks that are actually talking about supporting Q…
- on May 25, 2012
-
Re: Two LR cops busted in federal marijuana sting
Of course you're right, MarcKyle 1964. Yet, as I responded to my new friend Verla…
- on May 25, 2012
Top Commenters
Blogroll
Slideshows
-
Police close the Occupy Little Rock camp, perhaps the last Occupy encampment on public land.
Site Index
News
Cover Story / Arkansas Reporter / The Week That Was / Smart Talk / The Insider / The Observer / Editorial / Max Brantley / Ernest Dumas / Gene Lyons / Bob Lancaster / Words / Guest Writer / Letters
Entertainment
A&E Feature / To-Do List / In Brief / Movie Reviews / Music Reviews / Theater Reviews / A&E News / Art Notes / Graham Gordy / Books / Media / Dining Reviews / Dining Guide / What's Cookin' / Calendar / The Televisionist / Movie Listings / Gallery Listings
This Week's Cover
Quick Links
Special Publications
RSS
Facebook
Twitter
