35 labeled ‘achieving’ of 239 school districts

by Cynthia Howell | January 8, 2013 at 12:09 a.m.

Thirty-five of Arkansas’ 239 school districts and six of 16 open-enrollment charter schools are classified as “achieving” school systems under the state’s new accountability system, leaving more than 200 districts and charter systems — some considered very high performing — branded as “needing improvement.”

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Front Section, Pages 1 on 01/08/2013

Print Headline: 35 labeled ‘achieving’ of 239 school districts

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Testingonetwothree
January 8, 2013 at 7:43 a.m.

what a joke....is this an Obama "redistribution" plan......so the best schools in the state are labeled needing improvement......and the worst schools are labeled achieving???? what a crock.......why grade anyone give everyone an A...this is exactly why 50% of incoming freshman in colleges have to be remediated.....

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Populist
January 8, 2013 at 8:52 a.m.

This is how it is done in Montgomery County, Maryland--which may be the country's best school system. A bad school district is not going to turn out a high percentage of rocket scientists over night. What the school administrators work toward is making the schools' scores go up. This is just recognition of improvement. If a system keeps rewarding improving schools which improve, they all start achieving at a high level. While I was at first skeptical of the number of tests that are given in Montgomery County, I have watched with amazement at the high level of achievement of the children in this system. The testing helps the teachers to place the kids in a level appropriate for them and to keep teaching them until they master that level. The kids who go through this system do not need to be remediated; the remediation took place in middle school or high school. The high level classes are taught at a more advanced level and the lower levels are more basic and may have an assistant in the class.

A friend of mine worked for Teach for America. I've heard that they are doing great things in eastern Arkansas. I know that the Phillips County Boys and Girls Club has amazing activities and study programs for the kids. More programs need to be available in the bad sections of Little Rock. If you keep the children busy in wholesome activities, they do not end up holding up 711s.

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