LITTLE ROCK — A report released last week gives Arkansas high marks for its educational policies but low marks in two areas where the state has long struggled to advance: Student achievement and the chance for a successful career with an Arkansas education.
In its annual Quality Counts report, Education Week magazine ranked Arkansas fifth among the 50 states and the District of Columbia — up from sixth last year — in educational policies and performance and gave the state a grade of B-minus.
That is the state’s overall grade, a composite of high grades in areas related to policy and lower grades related to performance. In student achievement, the state ranked Arkansas 34th and received a D; in students’ chance for success, the state ranked 44th and received a C-minus.
“The fact that we’re fifth (overall) is wonderful,” Gov. Mike Beebe told the Arkansas News Bureau. “The fact that in two of those six categories we’re still below the middle of the country requires us not to let up and to continue to work.”
One of Beebe’s signature initiatives as governor has been increasing funding for pre-kindergarten education to extend access to more children. Currently he is seeking to expand the teaching of science, technology, engineering and math in public schools through a pilot program called STEM Works.
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The governor noted that despite the D grade in student achievement, the report shows Arkansas has improved in that area compared to last year.
“We went from 36th to 34th in student achievement, passing two states in one year,” he said. “You know, it’s a hard statistic to change because it’s so cumulative.”
Rich Huddleston, executive director of the nonprofit group Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, said that while the state’s rankings for student outcomes are low, the areas where it ranked high, such as accountability and transitions and alignment between grade levels, are “putting in place an infrastructure that hopefully in later years will allow us to do better.”
Unlike many states, Arkansas has not cut education funding, and policy makers deserve kudos for that, Huddleston said.
“That’s going to pay off in later years, and I think it shows the extent to which the governor and legislators understand the importance of education as part of an economic development strategy,” he said. “But I would also say that we still have a lot of work to do.”
Huddleston said one thing the state could do is address learning loss that occurs over the summer break.
“That’s a problem that really impacts minority kids, because they often don’t have the opportunities during the summertime to keep up what they’ve learned during the school year,” he said.
Quality after-school and summer programs can help with that problem, but “Arkansas is just not doing much there,” Huddleston said.
State Education Commissioner Tom Kimbrell said school districts receive funding for programs to help low-income students, and some, such as Fort Smith, use the money to fund after-school and summer programs. Across the state, though, the programs are “sporadic,” he said.
“It’s a matter of what they choose to fund,” he said.
Beebe said his administration has encouraged school districts to seek grants and private donations to fund after-school and summer programs, has encouraged the use of federal stimulus money for that purpose and has provided state funding “where we can.”
Huddleston also said Arkansas leads the nation in providing 4-year-olds access to quality pre-kindergarten education, but he said fewer than half of 3-year-olds in the state have access to the program.
“If you go below 3-year-olds, in terms of infants and toddlers, which is where a lot of research says you can have the greatest bang for the buck, Arkansas is doing virtually nothing,” he said, acknowledging that the same could be said of many states.
Beebe said he would love to expand pre-K education further, but “it’s a matter of money.”
“Rich Huddleston … has the luxury of being able to advocate for it without having to pay for it,” he said. “I’ve got to pay for it.”