THE LISTS and CRITERIA
Arkansas Education Report
The Arkansas Education Report, completed by the University of Arkansas Office for Education Policy, is made up of six parts. They include:
• High Achieving “Overall” Schools in Arkansas, released Aug. 25
• Beating the Odds — High Achieving Schools Serving Low Income Students, to be released Sept. 8
• High Achieving Elementary Schools by Region, to be released Sept. 22
• High Achieving High Schools Across Arkansas, to be released Oct. 20
• Most Improved Schools 2009 -2010, to be released Nov. 3.
Source: Staff Report
***
THE LISTS
Area Schools Placed On Top 20 Lists
Elementary School Benchmark Math Achievement
• 4th Central Park Elementary, Bentonville
• 6th Bellview Elementary School, Rogers
• 10th Cooper Elementary School, Bentonville
• 11th Elm Tree Elementary School, Bentonville
Middle School Benchmark Math Achievement
• 2nd McNair Middle School, Fayetteville
• 4th Lincoln Junior High School, Bentonville
• 6th Washington Junior High School, Bentonville
• 8th Ruth Hale Barker Middle School, Bentonville
• 10th Old High Middle School, Bentonville
• 16th Spring Hill Middle School, Bentonville
Elementary School Benchmark Literacy
• 6th Elm Tree Elementary, Bentonville
• 8th Bellview Elementary, Rogers
• 11th Hunt Elementary, Springdale
• 17th Vandergriff Elementary, Fayetteville
• 19th Central Park Elementary, Bentonville
Middle School Benchmark Literacy
• 3rd Washington Junior High, Bentonville
• 6th Lincoln Junior High, Bentonville
• 12th McNair Middle School, Fayetteville
Elementary School Benchmark Math and Literacy
• 5th Bellview Elementary, Rogers
• 7th Elm Tree Elementary, Bentonville
• 11th Central Park Elementary, Bentonville
• 15th Hunt Elementary, Springdale
• 19th Vandergriff Elementary, Fayetteville
Middle School Benchmark Math and Literacy
• 3rd McNair Middle School, Fayetteville
• 4th Lincoln Junior High, Bentonville
• 5th Washington Junior High, Bentonville
• 12th Ruth Hale Barker Middle School, Bentonville
• 15th Old High Middle School, Bentonville
Source: Arkansas Education Report
NORTHWEST ARKANSAS — Several area schools rank among the best in the state according to a recently released portion of the Arkansas Education Report from the University of Arkansas.
Elementary and middle schools in the Bentonville, Fayetteville, Rogers and Springdale school districts appeared within the report, which reviewed Benchmark performances.
Benchmark results are used to determine whether schools are making adequate yearly progress, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind Act. The scores are also used to help determine which students and schools need extra attention in certain areas, administrators have said.
“It is very important to recognize schools that are high achieving,” said James Woodworth, an author of the report. “So often you only hear about schools that are doing negative things. It is nice to hear about the schools that are doing good things.”
Authors of the report gathered raw data from that Arkansas Department of Education, then computed the averages of schools by using the population of students in each grade and performance of each grade, Woodworth said.
“When you look at the Benchmark data for the entire state it is easy to get lost in the numbers,” Woodworth said. “That is why we do the first 20 schools because it makes it easier.”
The first part of the report rates schools on their mathematics and literacy achievement, along with the combined achievement of both.
Bentonville School District had eight schools make a list.
“We should be really proud,” said Superintendent Gary Compton. “I thought it was impressive to see our name on the top 20 on every single list.
Washington Junior High School ranked third on the literacy list, while Lincoln Junior High ranked fourth on the combination list for math and literacy.
Springdale had a school ranked on one of the top 20 lists for the first time.
“Certainly recognizing and highlighting the work of our teachers in reports like this is very rewarding,” said Associate Superintendent Marsha Jones.
Hunt Elementary School was placed 11th on the literacy list and 15th on the combination list.
The school did a lot of things differently last year, said Principal Michelle Doshier.
“We really looked at the data and checked to see where our weak areas were,” Doshier said. “We have tried make sure we provide lessons that hit the standards that the kids were scoring low in before.”
One area the school focused on was literacy and reading, Doshier said.
Bellview Elementary School in Rogers showed up on a list several times. It ranked sixth in mathematics, eighth in literacy and fifth on the combined list.
“I am very happy with Bellview’s achievements, but all of our elementary schools have good achievements,” said Superintendent Janie Darr. “When you look at the number of low-income students and second language students we have, I am very proud of our schools.”
McNair Middle School in Fayetteville placed second in math achievement, 12th in literacy and third on the combination list.
Administrators in the Fayetteville district were unable to comment by press time because of district-wide meetings on Friday, However, they were pleased to be recognized, said Alan Wilbourn, public information officer for the district.