Report: Northwest Arkansas Students Perform Better Now Than Five Years Ago

Friday, January 3, 2014

School children in Benton and Washington counties’ 17 public school districts are performing better on standardized tests than five years ago, according to a new report.

The 2013 Northwest Arkansas Education Report Card shows the number of students living in poverty, which is determined by those who qualify for free and reduced-price meals at school, increased from 40 percent in 2004-05 to 52 percent in 2012-13. Statewide, the free and reduced rate grew from 53 percent to 60 percent during the same time frame, according to the report.

The Office for Education Policy at the University of Arkansas in partnership with the Northwest Arkansas Council created the report.

Web Watch

Nortwest Arkansas Education Report

Read the Northwest Arkansas Education Report at nwaonline.com/documents.

By The Numbers

Northwest Arkansas Schools

• 122: Schools in 17 public school districts in Benton and Washington counties.

• 5,106: Certified teachers in the districts.

• 77,543: Students enrolled during the 2012-13 school year.

Source: Northwest Arkansas Education Report Card

The average literacy score increased from 69 percent in 2007-08 to 81 percent in 2012-13. Mathematics scores rose from 74 percent to 78 percent. The averages represent the percentage of students who scored at the proficient and advanced levels on the Benchmark exams, administered annually to students in the third through eighth grades.

The 16-page report also looks at student performance on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills and high school end-of-course exams. The report includes student, teacher and district demographics, per pupil expenditures and high school graduation rates.

Marsha Jones, assistant superintendent in the Springdale School District, said, “We’re always interested in the data and this is very good. That the region is doing well as a whole pleases us.”

The report divides the districts into two groups: the five largest — Bentonville, Fayetteville, Rogers, Siloam Springs and Springdale — and the 12 rural districts. It also includes data from the two charter schools, Benton County School of the Arts in Rogers and Haas Hall Academy in Fayetteville.

John Colbert, assistant superintendent in the Fayetteville School District, said the report provides feedback to educators that schools are doing very well preparing students.

“It shows us schools have top test scores, and also attendance is good with a low drop-out rate,” Colbert said. “It’s encouraging.”

Gary Ritter, a professor and director of the education policy office, said the intention of the report is to provide a glimpse of education to parents and school patrons while encouraging them to dig deeper into the data. The education policy office created a database of information about each school district.

“This is only the tip of the iceberg of what is available and accessible,” Ritter said.

The graduation rates in the report card are calculated based on the number of freshmen who graduate four years later, Ritter said. A more complete graduation rate report will be issued by his office in early February.

The graduation rate in 2012-13 ranged from a low of 82 percent in Springdale to a high of 95 percent in Farmington. The percentage rates in the other large districts were Bentonville, 85; Fayetteville, 87; Rogers, 82; and Siloam Springs, 88. The statewide graduation rate is 84 percent.

The report shows the big five districts performed better on standardized tests than the rural districts, Ritter said. However, the rural districts did a better job keeping students in school to graduation.

Michael Crouch, a research associate in the education policy office, said the year-to-year data comparison from 2011-12 to 2012-13 shows a slower rate of improvement statewide.

Education officials have cautioned there could be a noticeable difference in the performance of Arkansas students after the assessments tied to Common Core State Standards are introduced. The first tests will begin in a limited number of districts this spring. Statewide testing will be implemented in Arkansas schools in 2015.

“It will be a transitory year,” Crouch said.