office for education policy: “making evidence matter” marc holley nate jensen brent riffel gary...
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Office for Education Policy:“Making Evidence Matter”
Marc HolleyNate JensenBrent Riffel
Gary W. Ritter, Director
The Office for Education Policy (OEP): one of many research and service units in COEHP
Established in 2003, and housed in the Department of Education Reform
Who Are We?
Our Mission The Office for Education Policy seeks to be a
resource that aids state policymakers, educators, administrators, and other leaders in thoughtful decision-making concerning K-12 education in the state of Arkansas.
In light of this mission, naturally, OEP has been following Arkansas education reform, and trying to track resulting changes in state education.
The Office for Education Policy seeks to research key public policy issues relevant to K-12 education in Arkansas and disseminate the findings to policymakers in a timely and accessible manner.
Our Work
The Office for Education Policy summarizes, synthesizes, and analyzes current issues and publishes this information in the forms of Web-based resources Policy briefs Working research papers Quarterly newsletters Monthly e-news updates
Our Current Research Tracing the outcome of the Lake View decision
Examining merit pay programs in Little Rock
Analyzing the effectiveness of technology in the classroom
Studying the effects of early childhood programs
Evaluating current science education standards
Reporting on the current school funding formula
Researching the effects of school consolidation
Tracking Progress
In addition to evaluating existing programs, OEP continually tracks student performance throughout Arkansas.
So…how does the state fare?
Recent Student Performance Arkansas has historically been viewed
as both economically and educationally backward compared to most states.
Yet in recent years the state has shown dramatic improvement in both economic development and student performance.
In terms of the latter, the data confirm Arkansas’ educational progress.
Education ImprovementsOver the past decade, Arkansas has witnessed… Education reforms
Rigorous curricula (Smart Core, EOC exams, one of only 3 states to mandate Algebra II)
Accountability measures Incentive-based reform (e.g. performance pay) Approximately $1 billion invested into K-12 education
Increases in funding (Lake View decision) Over $400 million for educational facilities
Consolidation of schools Rising test scores & graduation rates Increases in AP participation
Improvement in Early Grades Increases in NAEP Scale Scores Fourth-Grade Reading
1998 to 2005
Source: National Center for Education Statistics/Arkansas Department of Education Significant increases
data not available
DEMD
NAEP Grade 4 Math – Closing the Gap
*
Source: Arkansas Department of Education
In 2007, average test scores remainnear the national average, but largely unchanged from 2005.
Out of 100 ninth-grade students in Arkansas ...
74 became high school graduates
Four-Year Graduation Rate From High School2005-06
U.S. Graduation Rate: 68%
Arkansas High School Graduation Rates
Challenges and Solutions
Challenge 1: Recently, we have done the
important work of increasing standards and increasing resources.
This has likely influenced the gains we are witnessing.
Now that the resources and standards are in place, the challenge to our policymakers is to develop and implement thoughtful strategies to employ these resources well to benefit students throughout the entire state.
This is a big challenge, as innovation often creates contention.
Challenges and Solutions
Challenge 2: We do well graduating students from high school, but are they prepared for college?
Arkansas and National Graduation Rates Compared, 2005-2006
68%
40%
18%27%
100%
74%
15%
27%
42%
100%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
120%
Begin 9thGrade
GraduateHigh School
StartCollege
Persistthrough 2nd
Year
EarnCollegeDegree
United States Arkansas
Potentially Effective Reforms Differentiated Pay for Teachers
Critically important to draw talented teachers to difficult to staff areas (geographic and subject areas)
Merit Pay, or Performance Bonuses Little Rock Achievement Challenge Pilot
Project State legislation on merit pay Teacher Advancement Program
Challenge = Inertia
The Effects of Incentive-Based Pay in Little Rock
46.54
44.16
42.15
43.48
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
2004-05 Mean Score 2005-06 Mean Score
Ave
rage
NC
E P
oint
s, M
ath
Sco
res
ACPP Comparison
Student performance in math increased 3.5 NCE points (roughly 6 to 7 percentile points).
Teachers support the ACPP merit pay program, and are significantly more satisfied with the ACPP than with the single salary system.
The program did not lead to counterproductive competition. The school environment is more positive with ACPP.
Challenges on the Horizon
Avoiding complacency The settlement of Lake View is not the end of reform Must be willing to try new initiatives (e.g. merit pay,
Teach for Arkansas) Must continue on with rigorous standards (exit exams)
Keeping the Focus School and district decisions must be based on
academics and students (LRSD) Policy and curricular decisions must be based on what
has the best chance of working … Focus on the evidence as compared to “this is how
we’ve always done it.”
Office for Education Policy
For more information contact:The Office for Education Policyhttp://www.uark.edu/ua/oep
(479) 575-3773Email: [email protected]