Moving Forward in Education

Moving Forward in Education

According to the National Assessment for Education Performance tests, Arkansas had 23 percent of our students performing at or above grade level in fourth grade reading in 1992. We had 9 percent of our fourth grade students performing at or above grade level in math, and 10 percent of our eighth graders performing at or above grade level in math.

Our ACT scores were stagnant and well below the national average. So from day one my administration made it our priority to turn the education system around.

We as a state can't attract decent jobs if we don't have a workforce trained and ready to be employed. The cycle of poverty can only be broken with the hammer of education, and we are doing it. All throughout our state we have seen families rise up out of hopelessness and be reborn into a world of endless opportunity.

Starting in 1998 with the Smart Start, Smart Step, and Arkansas' Comprehensive Testing, Assessment, and Accountability Program, or ACTAAP, we started out on the path to reforming our education system.

Smart Start established a strong focus on literacy in math and reading at the elementary school level with well-defined, high educational standards. We are now meeting or exceeding the national average in all of these areas.

The second initiative in 1998 was the ACTAAP, which laid out the basic framework and testing that is the foundation to the Smart Step initiatives. ACTAAP identifies successful schools and programs while providing corrective actions and support from state agencies. There are four components to the ACTAAP program: clear and challenging academic standards, professional development, student assessment, and accountability for schools and students.

In 2003, we introduced the first phase of the Next Step program. This program is a dramatic overhaul of the high school experience, and properly prepares teenagers for life after they graduate.

We were also faced with a major hurdle in 2003. The previous November, the Arkansas Supreme Court ruled that education must be funded first in the state's budget and that the state must provide access to an adequate education for every child in the state.

In response to this mandate, I worked to provide authority for the Arkansas Department of Education to provide immediate intervention in schools that were chronically failing, including the ability for the state to take over the local school board. This has made for some difficult decisions and heart-breaking work, but we are seeing the benefits already in the increased development of advanced placement courses and wider array of course options throughout our state high schools.

In 2004, we still were faced with the challenge to "adequately" fund education. We were able at that point to utilize some of our state surplus to increase funding for all K-12 elementary education. This has lead to an increase of 34 percent in public school funding over the past three years.

When our students are now competing with children in India, China, and others across the world for educational opportunities, jobs, and futures, we must ensure they have the proper background and preparation to go out and compete in a global economy. We can't afford to back down from the successes we have made. Our students are ready to face the 21st century, and I am ready to see where they will take us.

http://www.arkansas.gov/governor/newsroom/index.php?do:newsDetail=1&news_id=277