By RICK KRON
Leader staff writer
Editor’s Note: This is the third in a series of articles examining the state-issued report cards on area schools.
All state schools were recently graded (A-F) by the state, and many superintendents, like Beebe’s Belinda Shook, felt the grades were bias and, negative and unfair.
“In my opinion, there are so many flaws to it all, it is not an accurate assessment and very frustrating,” she said. “We are really comparing apples to oranges as far as each school having their own goals and organizational makeup, but then using the same grading system.”
The school report cards are part of a 2013 law requiring an easy-to-comprehend system that parents and others could understand.
What the state produced was report cards for each school averaging 18 pages each full of information, often conflicting, and no clear summary or explanation of the grade, which is not featured on the front page of the report cards, but instead in the middle of the report as a line item.
“Parents and patrons may understand letter grades, such as those in the A-F system, but they do not understand the very complex formula used by the state to determine the school letter grade. The Beebe School District provides quality education to thousands of students. This is evidenced by the millions of dollars of scholarship money, reward money for high achievement, recognition in various contests and, most noticeably, in the number of students who graduate career and college ready,” Shook said.
Out of 1,052 schools across the state, 162 received A’s, 322 garnered B’s, 365 got C’s, 160 earned D’s and 43 were labeled with an F.
Beebe received one B, four C’s and one D.
The superintendent said, “Looking at the same report card, from 2012, Beebe had three ‘schools of excellence,’ two ‘schools exceeding standards,’ and one ‘school meeting standards.’”
Shook added, “Schools are always in a continuous cycle of improvement, so school districts are not opposed to looking at data, but the letter grades are an inaccurate reflection of what happens in Arkansas’ school districts.”
Taking an in-depth look at the state-issued report cards on Beebe and its schools, the data shows that the district spends about $1,000 less to educate a student than the state average. Beebe spends $8,236 per student and the state average is $9,379.
Teacher salaries are about $3,000 above state average: $51,566 compared to $48,060.
The total budget for the school district in the 2013-14 school year was $30.17 million, according to the state report. That broke down to $16.2 million for instruction expenses, $2.5 million for administrative costs, $1 million for extracurricular activities, $1.8 million for capital expenditures and debt service of $1.1 million.
The report also shows that 80 percent of Beebe’s students are eligible for free or reduced meals, about 15 points above the state average.
BADGER ELEMENTARY
According to the state report card, the school received 219 points and an overall grade of C, just nine points from a D and is listed as a needs improvement school. Three years ago, using a different rating system, the state said Badger Elementary was a “school of excellence.”
The school, last year, had 360 students, an average class size of 24 students and teachers had an average of 10 years experience. The student population was 89 percent white, 4 percent black, 4 percent Hispanic, 1 percent Native American and 1 percent Asian. The rest of the student body identified other races.
Badger Elementary’s accreditation status was at the highest level. The report said that 100 percent of the teachers were completely certified (better than the state average) and that 31 percent had master’s degrees. In 2013-14, the school retained two students.
On the literacy portion of the annual Benchmark, the school’s third graders were 78.8 percent proficient or better, about three points better than the previous year, but still 10 points shy of the state-mandated goal of 88.64 percent.
In math, third graders were 83.09 percent proficient or better, a slight increase from the previous year, but shy of the 93.18 percent required by the state.
Fourth graders were 80.66 percent proficient or better in literacy, six points lower than the previous year and missing the state-required by six points. In math, the students suffered a big drop, going from 90.72 percent in 2013 to 70 percent last year, far short of the state bar of 93.1 percent.
The third graders beat the state average on the norm-referenced test used to compared students nationally. The school’s second and fourth graders did not beat the state numbers.
EARLY CHILDHOOD
This Beebe school with 560 students, an average class size of 20 students and teachers averaging 10 years of experience, garnered 234 points from the state for a C grade, just six points short of a B. Like the rest of Beebe’s schools, it was listed as a needs improvement facility.
The student population was 88 percent white, 7 percent black and 5 percent Hispanic.
Beebe Early Childhood’s accreditation status was at the highest level. The report said that 100 percent of the teachers were completely certified (better than the state average) and that 30 percent had master’s degrees.
In 2013-14, the school retained 13 first graders, about even with the state average.
The student population was too young to participate in the annual Benchmark exam, but did take a norm-referenced test. The school’s first graders finished below the state average on both the literacy and math portions of the test.
BEEBE ELEMENTARY
This school with 419 students, an average class size of 23 and teachers with an average of 11 years of experience, garnered 234 points for a C, six points short of a B. The school was listed as needing improvement, but three years ago the state called it a “school of excellence.”
The student population is 90 percent white, 6 percent Hispanic, 3 percent black and 1 percent Asian.
The school was fully accredited with 100 percent of its teachers fully licensed and 31 percent having master’s degrees. The school retained two students during the 2013-14 school year.
On the literacy portion of the state Benchmark, the third graders were 77.9 percent proficient or better, a four-point drop from the previous year and a little more than 12 points below the state-required goal of 90.02 percent.
In math, the students also dropped in proficiency and missed the state goals. Students were 83.8 percent proficient or advanced, five points under the previous year and about nine points short of the mandated 93.15 percent.
The fourth grade test performance was also down. In literacy, students were 88.5 percent proficient or better, down six points from the previous year and missing the state goal of 90.02 percent.
In math, the students were 79.1 percent proficient or better compared to 93.44 percent the previous year, missing the state mark by 14 points.
The school’s third graders were the only grade to beat the state average in literacy and math on the norm-referenced test, which is used to compare students nationally.
BEEBE MIDDLE
This school was listed by the state three years ago as a “school of excellence” but on the recent report card received 208 points for a D, two points under a C. It was also listed as a needs improvement school.
The school has 476 students, an average class size of 22 and teachers have an average of 11 years of experience. The student population is 91 percent white, 4 percent Hispanic, 3 percent black, 1 percent Asian and 1 percent Native American.
The school was cited for accreditation issues and only 90.9 percent of its teachers were completely certified. Almost half the teachers had master’s degrees.
The school’s fifth graders were 83.3 percent proficient or better on the literacy portion of the annual Benchmark exam, down six points from the previous year and less than two points from the state mandate of 84.97 percent proficient or better.
In math, the students improved, but not enough. The students were 67.4 percent proficient or advanced, up seven points from the previous year, but still about 20 points under the state bar of 87.03 percent.
Sixth graders were 74.1 percent proficient or better on the literacy exam, down seven points from the previous year and almost 11 points shy of the 84.97 percent required by the state.
In math, the sixth graders were 72.7 percent proficient or better, up three points from the previous year, and about 15 points under the state requirement.
BEEBE JR HIGH
The district’s junior high went from a “school exceeding standards” three years ago to a low C on the state’s report card.
The school with 467 students, an average class size of 19 and teachers averaging 11 years of experience, garnered 218 points from the state for a C, but just eight points from a D.
The school has a student population of 87 percent white, 6 percent Hispanic, 4 percent black and 1 percent Asian. The rest of the student body identified as other races.
The school was properly accredited, but only 93.2 percent of its teachers were completely certified. Nearly half the school’s teachers have master’s degrees.
The seventh graders bested the state requirement on the literacy portion of the test with 85 percent scoring proficient or advanced, up about eight points from the previous year and moving past the state bar of 84.51 percent proficient or better.
In math, 75.5 percent of the students made the grade, up 10 points from the previous year, but short of the 82.25 percent proficient or better required by the state.
In eighth grade, students were 82.2 percent proficient or better in literacy, up two points from the previous year, but two points short of the state goal. In math, the eighth graders were 68.9 percent proficient or advanced, a drop of three points from the previous year and about 13 points under the state mandate of 82.25 percent.
The seventh graders did top the state average in literacy and math on the norm-referenced test, which is used to compare students nationally.
BEEBE HIGH
The high school, with 921 students, average classes of 15 students and teachers with an average of 13 years of experience, garnered 242 points from the state for a B, but just two points away from a C. Three years ago, the state categorized the high school as a “school exceeding standards.”
The school’s population is 89 percent white, 4 percent Hispanic, 3 percent black and 1 percent Asian. The rest of the student body identified as other races.
It is fully accredited with 94.9 percent of the teachers completely certified and 60 percent holding master’s degrees. During the 2013-14 school year, two students were expelled and there were two weapons incidents.
The school had a graduation rate of 86.6 percent, down slightly from the state average; a grade inflation rate of 3.4 percent, half of the state’s average; a college-going rate of 55.5 percent, four points better than the state average; and a college remediation rate of 38.9 percent, six points better than the state.
Beebe high school students outperformed the state average on all portions of the ACT and SAT.
Of those students taking the algebra I end-of-course exam, 76.7 percent scored proficient or better, down about four points from the previous year and four points shy of the state mark of 80.98 percent proficient or advanced.
In geometry, 76.9 percent of the students made the grade on the end-of-course exam, down about two points from the previous year and missing the state requirement by four points.
Students also take an end-of-course test in biology but the state doesn’t use it to calculate a school’s ranking or overall performance. In Beebe, 58.55 percent of the students were proficient or advanced in biology, about the same as the previous year.
On the grade 11 literacy exam, which measures whether a student can read and write on grade level, 73.9 percent were proficient or better, up slightly from the previous year, but not up to the state-required 79 percent proficient or advanced.
Shook said, “The results of the ‘grading’ system are insulting to the district as a whole. It is also an unfair assessment of the work put forth by administrators, teachers, but first and foremost, our students.”
