Arkansas: The Case to Adopt Common College- and Career-Ready Standards (State Card)
May 2010 – In the spring of 2009, the Common Core State Standards Initiative was launched with forty-eight states, the District of Columbia, and two territories coming together under the auspices of the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers to craft a common core of state K–12 English language arts and mathematics standards. The Alliance for Excellent Education strongly supports this state-led movement that promises to lay a new foundation for systemwide education reform. The attached profile captures some of the data relevant to the need for improved standards and assessments in the United Statesand the potential benefits of educating all students to meet the common college- and career-ready core standards.
Online Learning: Addressing Challenges and Seizing Opportunities in Arkansas (State Profile)
May 2010 – America’s K–12 education system faces three significant challenges: (1) increased global demands for skilled workers, (2) significant financial shortfalls, and (3) a looming teacher shortage. Online learning offers an opportunity to address these challenges. The "Online Learning: Addressing Challenges and Seizing Opportunities" state profiles present state-specific information about the three challenges and summarizes information about online-learning opportunities and related state and federal policies.
Arkansas State Card
State cards provide a statistical snapshot of high schools for each state in the nation and the District of Columbia. The cards include economic information, data on high school graduation and college completion rates, academic achievement, and states’ progress in building a longitudinal data system. Where applicable, statewide numbers are compared to the national average and include national rankings.
Federal High School Graduation Rate Policies and the Impact on Arkansas
This brief outlines current high school graduation policies in the state and describes how recent regulations from the U.S. Department of Education could impact these policies. It also highlights the state's unique policy concerns and hurdles that must still be addressed.
Potential Economic Impacts of Improved Education on Arkansas
This economic impact fact sheet helps policymakers and the public understand the extent of the economic costs to society of an educational system that serves so many students poorly. It also provides an overview of the potential economic benefits that a state could enjoy were it to invest in a high school system that prepares all high school students for graduation and success after high school.
Understanding Arkansas' High School Graduation Rates
Unacceptably low graduation rates, particularly among poor and minority students, have been obscured for far too long by inaccurate data, calculations, and reporting, and inadequate accountability systems at the state and federal levels. Understanding High School Graduation Rates provides the latest graduation rate statistics, demonstrates graduation gaps between demographic groups, illustrates the discrepancies in graduation rates reported by government and independent sources, and examines the economic costs of dropouts to individuals and society.
Promoting Power
How does your local high school measure up? View the complete list of high schools in your state or congressional district and their Promoting Power.
Arkansas' Ten Largest School Districts
The chart provides graduation rate calculations for the state's ten largest school districts by enrollment. The chart provides an overall graduation rate for the school district and also breaks down graduation rates by student subgroup when available.
Education News from Arkansas
HIGH SCHOOL DROPOUTS COST ARKANSAS BILLIONS IN LOST WAGES:
If the more than 10,000 high school dropouts from the Class of 2008 had earned their diplomas instead of dropping out, Arkansas’ economy would have seen an additional $2.7 billion in wages over these students’ lifetimes. A chart with state-by-state breakdown for all fifty states and the District of Columbia is available at http://www.all4ed.org/files/HighCost.pdf.
ARKANSAS’ ECONOMY COULD SEE MILLIONS IN WEALTH ACCUMULATION BY RAISING THE HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION RATE:
If the high school dropouts who currently head households in Arkansas had earned their diplomas, the state’s economy would have benefited from an additional $919 million in wealth accumulated by families. More information, as well as a chart with state-by-state breakdown for all fifty states and the District of Columbia, is available at http://www.all4ed.org/files/hiddenbenefits.pdf.
ARKANSAS COULD SAVE MILLIONS IN HEALTH CARE COSTS BY RAISING HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION RATES
If all of the students in Arkansas who are estimated to drop out of school this year earn diplomas instead, the state could save more than $94 million over the course of those young people’s lifetimes. More information, as well as a chart with state-by-state breakdown for all fifty states and the District of Columbia, is available at http://www.all4ed.org/files/HandW.pdf.
ARKANSAS' ECONOMY WOULD SEE MILLIONS IF THE MINORITY GRADUATION RATE WAS RAISED TO THE LEVEL OF THEIR WHITE CLASSMATES
If Arkansas' high schools and colleges were to raise the graduation rates of Hispanic, African-American, and Native-American students to the levels of white students by 2020, the potential increase in personal income in the state would add more than $785 million to Arkansas' economy. More information, as well as a chart with state-by-state breakdown for all fifty states and the District of Columbia, is available at http://www.all4ed.org/files/demography.pdf.
ARKANSAS SPENDS MILLIONS ANNUALLY ON REMEDIAL EDUCATION FOR RECENT HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES
Arkansas spends over $23 million each year to provide community college remediation education for recent high school graduates who did not acquire the basic skills necessary to succeed in college or at work. More information, as well as a chart with state-by-state breakdown for all fifty states and the District of Columbia, is available at http://www.all4ed.org/files/remediation.pdf.
FIVE PERCENT INCREASE IN MALE GRADUATION RATE COULD SAVE ARKANSAS MILLIONS IN CRIME-RELATED SPENDING
Were Arkansas to increase the graduation rate and college matriculation of its male students by only 5 percent, the state could see combined savings and revenue of almost $77 million each year. More information, as well as a chart with state-by-state breakdown for all fifty states and the District of Columbia, is available at http://www.all4ed.org/files/SavingFutures.pdf.
TEACHER TURNOVER COULD COST ARKANSAS MILLIONS ANNUALLY
More than 3,803 teachers in Arkansas will not be returning to the schools where they taught last year. What’s more, replacing these individuals could cost the state up to $38 million. More information, as well as a chart with state-by-state breakdown for all fifty states and the District of Columbia, is available at http://www.all4ed.org/files/TeacherAttrition.pdf.