Local schools fare well in comparisons

NWA Democrat-Gazette/BEN GOFF — Students pass between the north and south buildings of Bentonville High School during a class change March 12. Bentonville and Fayetteville students typically perform among the best on state math and literacy tests.
NWA Democrat-Gazette/BEN GOFF — Students pass between the north and south buildings of Bentonville High School during a class change March 12. Bentonville and Fayetteville students typically perform among the best on state math and literacy tests.

Northwest Arkansas' public schools generally produce better results than the rest of the state's and some reports suggest they're also doing well compared to the nation.

The Iowa Test of Basic Skills, a nationally standardized achievement test, is administered to students in grades one through nine. Benton County students scored in the 64th national percentile in math and the 60th national percentile in reading, according to figures provided by the Office for Education Policy, part of the Department of Education Reform at the University of Arkansas. Washington County students scored in the 60th percentile in math and the 54th percentile in reading, according to the office.

Financial Highlights

Here’s a look at school finances across different regions of Arkansas, based on numbers from the 2013-14 school year.

RegionsNorthwestNortheastCentralSouthwest*Southeast

Average Mills38.2236.2639.9336.72*36.07

Percent Minority30284444*52

Percent Free/Reduced Lunch Participants58675668*73

Per Pupil Expenditure$9,154$9,042$9,878$9,419*$10,193

Average Teacher Salary$49,951$44,739$51,529$42,725*$42,053

Teacher:Student Ratio1 to 14.21 to 13.81 to 14.31 to 12.7*1 to 12.6

Cost of proficiency$11,515$12,219$13,531$13,082*$15,100

Source: University of Arkansas Office for Education Policy

Northwest Arkansas students ranked above their peers in other regions of the state on Arkansas Benchmark tests. The office divides the state intno five regions. Nineteen of the state's 75 counties comprise the northwest region,

The northwest region also had a lower "cost of proficiency" than the rest of the state. The Office for Education Policy calculates the cost of proficiency by dividing a school district's per-pupil expenditure by the overall percent who scored proficient on the Benchmark exams, thus producing a measure of efficiency of the state's schools. Most of what the schools spend per pupil goes toward staff salaries and benefits, though there is also money allotted for items like building maintenance and supplies.

Northwest Arkansas schools spent $11,515 to produce each proficient or advanced score, lowest among the state's five regions. The southeast section of the state spent the most at $15,100.

Gary Ritter, director of the Office for Education Policy, points out Northwest Arkansas' demographics give its schools an advantage.

"Everywhere you look, districts are doing a little better than the state overall," Ritter said of the northwest area. "But these school districts are less poor."

The amount of poverty in a school district typically is measured by the number of students who qualify for free or reduced-price meals at school. That number is 61 percent for the state overall. Benton and Washington counties both report poverty rates below the state average at 46 percent and 57 percent respectively, according to the Office for Education Policy.

Some local districts, such as Springdale and Rogers, contend with poverty rates at or above the state average. Bentonville (26 percent) and Fayetteville (40 percent) school districts deal with less poverty.

It is worth paying attention to which districts are doing well educating Targeted Achievement Gap Group students, Ritter said. Students in this group include those considered economically disadvantaged, those with disabilities and English language learners.

Rogers led all Benton and Washington county districts last year with 82 percent of its targeted students achieving proficiency in literacy and 77 percent achieving proficiency in math. The state averages were 71 percent in literacy and 65 percent in math.

Virginia Abernathy, Rogers' assistant superintendent of elementary curriculum and instruction, said the district consistently focuses on student achievement and student growth. Professional development is key, she said.

"It's not just something you do at the beginning of the year," Abernathy said. "We're very specific, very focused on our professional development based on what our needs are showing. We have data team meetings. Every one of our principals come in and meet with the appropriate assistant superintendent, and they share the data from their students and drill it down by teacher, by individual students, and then come in with plans on what is it you're going to do to help that specific child be successful."

When a child is struggling, Rogers staff try to identify and address the source.

"Our children are having more and more social and emotional needs," Abernathy said.

'Everyone cares'

Bentonville and Fayetteville students typically perform among the best on state math and literacy tests. When it comes to graduation rates, however, the smaller districts in Northwest Arkansas tend to do better.

Elkins School District, for example, posted a graduation rate of 98.7 percent. Farmington School District has a graduation rate of 96.3 percent. Benton and Washington counties' biggest five districts -- Bentonville, Fayetteville, Rogers, Siloam Springs and Springdale -- combined for a graduation rate of 85.2 percent, which is still better than the national average of 81 percent.

Dan Jordan, superintendent of the Elkins schools, said the district graduates about 100 students per year.

"Our teachers have more opportunities to personalize instruction with the students. There's more one-on-one," he said.

A strong commitment to education in the community also helps, he said.

"Our patrons and parents value education, and we get good parental support. That's really what we enjoy here in Elkins. Everyone cares," Jordan said.

A total of 131 Arkansas high school seniors were among about 16,000 nationally named National Merit Semifinalists last fall. Semifinalists are named based on their performance on the Preliminary SAT. They qualify to compete for college scholarships worth about $32 million.

Out of those 131 Arkansas students recognized, 33 came from public schools in Benton and Washington counties.

Chynna Todd, 17, and Jackson Hignite, 18, are both seniors in the Springdale School District. Todd attends Har-Ber High School and Hignite attends Springdale High. Both are also National Merit Finalists. Both also have attended Springdale schools since kindergarten.

Todd intends to enroll at John Brown University in Siloam Springs to pursue a degree in elementary education. She's open to coming back to the Springdale School District some day as a teacher.

The district has offered her all kinds of opportunities, she said.

"There are all these clubs and extracurricular things going on," Todd said. "I've been in band since seventh grade. That program has been phenomenal."

She is enrolled in a teaching class that allows students to spend two class periods per week shadowing a teacher at an elementary school.

Hignite hopes to attend the University of Notre Dame after graduation. He has family members all over the country and has talked to them about their experiences in school.

"Honestly, I really believe Springdale is one of the healthiest and best places to bring up a family," he said.

The diversity of the school district is part of what makes it great, he said.

"In places where it's all white or all black or all Hispanic, you're not getting an experience of what the real world is like," Hignite said.

National rank

Though Northwest Arkansas schools usually stand out when compared to other schools in the state, they don't show up very high in national rankings.

Niche.com, a website that provides reviews and insight on neighborhoods and schools across the country, recently compiled a list of the best public elementary schools in Arkansas. Twenty-one of the list's top 25 schools are in either Benton or Washington county.

However, not even Reagan Elementary School in Rogers -- judged by Niche.com to be the state's best -- cracked the website's list of the top 100 elementary schools.

Similarly, U.S. News & World Report's annual ranking of the nation's high schools typically places Northwest Arkansas schools among the highest in the state. Last year, five of the top six high schools in the state were in Benton or Washington counties. Haas Hall Academy in Fayetteville, an open-enrollment public charter school, landed at No. 137 in the nation. Bentonville High School ranked third in the state and No. 580 in the nation.

To create the rankings list, magazine officials looked at results from reading and math proficiency tests, advanced placement and international baccalaureate test data and advanced placement and international baccalaureate class enrollment, according to a document about the ranking methods.

Charles Cudney is director of the Northwest Arkansas Education Service Cooperative, which provides various support services to school districts in Benton, Madison and Washington counties. The data show Northwest Arkansas schools score very well compared to the rest of the state and nation, Cudney said.

On a national scale, most Northwest Arkansas students taking the ACT college entrance exam are scoring above the national average, Cudney said. Northwest Arkansas also fares well on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, administered to fourth- and eighth-graders, he said.

A growing percentage of students in poverty and a growing number of English language learners will present challenges for the region, Cudney said.

"There's no question that creates challenges for the districts in order to get students to an achievement level that allows them to reach their potential," Cudney said. "It takes money and a lot of effort on the part of educators."

Public perception of schools in Northwest Arkansas appears to be good. A quality-of-life survey by the Walton Family Foundation in late 2012 showed about 70 percent of residents perceive the elementary through high schools to be of good or very good quality. A survey conducted about six months earlier found 53 percent of Arkansas residents in a statewide poll thought local schools were doing a good job.

Ryan Halford is the father of twin 8-year-olds who attend Bentonville's R.E. Baker Elementary School. He grew up in Springfield, Mo., but he and his wife have spent the past 14 years in Bentonville. He said he has been "very pleased" with his school.

"I feel people there are really, genuinely interested in my children's education and their growth," Halford said. "Teachers go out of their way to make time to meet with us. I know that doesn't happen in other places."

NW News on 03/29/2015

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