More than half of the graduates from Northwest Arkansas’s largest districts retain scholarships from the lottery-financed Academic Challenge Scholarship Program.
On average, those students scored higher on the ACT and earned higher grades in college than students whose scholarships were not renewed, according to the 2012 Northwest Arkansas Report Card by the Office of Education Policy. The office is housed in the Department of Education Reform at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.
“We are trying to extend higher education to all,” said Michael Crouch, school performance evaluator in the Office of Education Policy. “What are the education options for students who are not able to renew their Challenge scholarships because of low scores? Are they able to stay in school?”
The report card, released this week, provides information in one document about school districts in Benton and Washington counties, as well as Northwest Arkansas Community College, John Brown University and the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville,said Gary Ritter, director of the office.
“The more information we share, the more transparent we are, the better off we’ll be,” Ritter said. “These are snapshot data that should encourage us to ask further questions.”
The office added information to the report card this year on the Arkansas Academic Challenge Scholarship program, a program largely financed by the lottery, Ritter said.
Lottery-financed scholarships in the 2010-11 school year went to 244 graduates from the Bentonville School District, 164 graduates in the Fayetteville School District, 287 graduates from the Rogers School District, 63 graduates of the Siloam Springs School District and 301 graduates of the Springdale School District.
Th e Academic Challenge Scholarship Program awards in 2010-11 were $5,000 for students entering the state’s public universities and $2,500 a year those going to two-year colleges. The amount has dropped to $4,500 this year for students entering universities and $2,250 for students entering two-year colleges. The scholarships can be used at all in-state colleges and universities.
Graduates from Fayetteville had the highest percentage of scholarships renewed, at 67 percent, among the largest five districts in Northwest Arkansas, while Springdale had the lowest rate of renewal at 58 percent, the report card shows.
The report card shows 64 percent of scholarships were renewed for graduates from the Rogers School District.
In college, students need a 2.75 grade-point average and must complete 27 semester hours of classes in the school year for their scholarships to be renewed.
Rogers High School counselor Kathleen Riggs anticipates the rate of renewal will continue to rise because of a requirement that applies to the Class of 2014. To receive a scholarship, the Class of 2014 will have to earn a diploma under a graduation plan requiring higher levels of science and mathematics, Riggs said.
“More students are able to afford to go to a four-year school instead of starting at a two-year school,” Riggs said. “We are keeping students in state that we might have lost to out-of-state [schools].”
This year’s Northwest Arkansas report card was a partnership between the Office of Education Policy and the Northwest Arkansas Council, a nonprofit organization that promotes the region. The report is available for recruiters from area companies to give to prospective job candidates,said Rob Smith, spokesman for the council. Job candidates are able to learn about the region’s rural districts and districts in the major cities.
The 2012 report card also provides details on the performance of students on state and national exams in 15 school districts and two charter schools, as well as graduation rates.
“Northwest Arkansas schools are still doing really well,” Crouch said. “It’s expected that the Northwest Arkansas schools will exceed the Arkansas average.”
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 7 on 12/12/2012