Bentonville School District Performance November 21, 2012 Gary W. Ritter Director Office for Education Policy

Overview of Today’s Presentation 1.Introduction to the OEP 2.Arkansas’ Achievement on National Tests 3.State Benchmark Scores over time 4.How does Bentonville compare? 5.Bentonville Elementary Data 6.Bentonville Mid/JR High Data 7.How Should we Rate Schools?

AR Education Reports Policy Briefs Report Cards Newsletters Data Resources OEP is a research center within the College of Education and Health Professions at the University of Arkansas that specializes in Education Research and Policy.

Arkansas Achievement on National Tests The NAEP, often called “The Nation’s Report Card,” is administered to a representative sample of Arkansas students in grades 4, 8 and 12 every other year. It includes math and reading subtests. As can be seen in the NAEP graphs, Arkansas’ performance is improving and approaching the national average in several areas, but continues to lag behind the nation as a whole in math and reading th grade data for math and reading will be released in the winter.

Math Proficiency %, Grade 4, In math, both grades are decreasing the gap between Arkansas and the nation, especially 4 th graders. The 4 th grade has shrunk from -8 in 1992 to -2 in However, Arkansas still performs less well than the nation in math in grades 4-8 on the NAEP. Arkansas NAEP Time Trends: Math Math Proficiency %, Grade 8,

Again, Arkansas performs less well than the nation in reading in grades 4-8 on the NAEP. However, the state has closed the gap. The narrative that “Arkansas Ranks 49 th in Education” has little merit! Arkansas NAEP Time Trends: Reading Reading Prof. %, Grade 4, Reading Prof. %, Grade 8,

Overall AR Achievement on STATE Exams: How was Arkansas’ performance on the Benchmark and End-of-Course Exams in ? Over time?

State Scores on Benchmarks Growth over time, until slight decrease in in literacy and math Slight decrease can be attributed to many factors, including ceiling effects and CCSS “implementation dip” Grade-level trends: lower grades perform at higher levels than upper grades Arkansas Overall, Grade 3 – 8, % Proficient/Advanced, Over time

Regional Variations on Exams Literacy Benchmark, Grades 3-8 Math Benchmark, Grades 3-8 Higher-performing regions: Northwest and Northeast

EOC Performance In , slight decreases in Algebra & Geometry scores Steady increases in Grade 11 Literacy and Biology scores over time

Math: Compared to Region & AR

LIT: Compared to Region & AR

Achievement & Attainment: Compared to Rest of Big Five! Math 2013OverallTAGG Bentonville89%78% Fayetteville87%76% Rogers83%77% Siloam Springs80%72% Springdale77%72% Grad Rate 2013OverallTAGG Bentonville86%78% Fayetteville86%72% Rogers88%84% Siloam Springs90%88% Springdale78%73% Highest test scores in region for all students, but still room for improvement in Grad Rates. Datasets allow us to study achievement of all students and vulnerable student groups.

How does Bentonville compare with Similar Districts? DistrictFRL % Total % Proficient or Advanced Math Total % Proficient or Advanced Literacy Bentonville31%88%90% Fayetteville41%84%85% Bryant37%84%88% Cabot 36%82%86% Valley View22%93%95% Comparison Average34%86%89%

Bentonville v. Comparable Districts – Math

Bentonville v. Comparable Districts – Literacy

Beyond Arkansas?

Bentonville Elementary Data School NameFRL % Math Prof./Adv. % Lit. Prof./Adv. % Overall Status Apple Glen Elementary36%90%89%Needs Improvement School Centerton Gamble Elementary39%92%90% Needs Improvement School Central Park at Morning Star Elementary18%97%93%Achieving School Cooper Elementary29%95%92% Needs Improvement School Elm Tree Elementary12%96%97%Achieving School Mary Mae Jones Elementary48%95%89%Achieving School R. E. Baker Elementary13%94%91% Needs Improvement School Sugar Creek Elementary52%89%86%Achieving School Thomas Jefferson Elementary42%88%83% Needs Improvement School Willowbrook Elementary24%94%91% Needs Improvement School

Middle School/Junior High Data School NameFRL % Math Prof./Adv. % Lit. Prof./Adv. % Overall Status Ardis Ann Middle School31%83%88%Needs Improvement School Bright Field Middle School21%89%93%Needs Improvement School Lincoln Junior High School37%82%90%Achieving School Old High Middle School36%81%85%Needs Improvement School Ruth Barker Middle School38%87%89%Needs Improvement School Washington Junior High School27%86%92%Needs Improvement School

State Rating System?? % in Each CategoryState Wide Schools Achieving13% Needs Improvement75% Focus9% Priority4% Districts Achieving4% Needs Improvement96% How informative is this rating? Background data are perhaps useful.

Questions or Comments?