At the September 10, 2015 meeting of the State Board of Education, the State-appointed superintendent of the Little Rock School District saw fit to reveal the baseline Benchmark scores of 21 2013-14 Roberts fifth graders who enrolled at either Quest Middle School of West Little Rock or Lisa Academy open-enrollment public charter schools for their 2014-15 sixth grade year.

The superintendent attempted to use the data of 1.1% of LRSD’s 2013-14 fifth graders no longer in the district to bolster his argument against expansion of those students’ new public schools, as well as other open-enrollment charters.

Never mind the legalities and/or ethics of sharing identifiable student information not available to the public, if the superintendent is using data to make decisions, he must consider the test scores and receiving schools – LRSD, open-enrollment public charter, private, home, new school districts – of all 1,802 2013-14 LRSD fifth graders.

According to data requested from the district last year, the 2013-14 fifth to 2014-15 sixth grade loss district-wide was 24%, essentially ten times the percentage for each of the class’ previous two years. The same class lost only 2.5% between third and fourth grades and 2.7% between fourth and fifth grades (see chart below).

The loss was 61% – two-and-a-half times the district loss percentage – in West Little Rock (Fulbright, Terry, Roberts Elementary Schools), where there are no receiving secondary schools, middle or high.

At Roberts, the largest elementary school in the district, the loss was 76% – over three times the district average, where only 28 2013-14 fifth graders remained in the district as 2014-15 sixth graders. By comparison, LRSD’s fifth to sixth grade exodus from Roberts was 67% in 2012-13, as only 35 students remained in the district.

So, when the 2014-15 test scores are available, we call upon the superintendent to release and closely examine the scores for all fifth graders, followed by those students’ receiving middle schools, be they LRSD, open-enrollment public charter, private, home, or new school district. Then, use that data to determine the most effective courses of action to retain, return and attract students to the Little Rock School District. Hint: Providing supply for demand will; fighting those providing supply for demand won’t.

Choice has always existed for those of means. Fighting open-enrollment public charters denies choice to those who cannot afford private tuition, have not the ability and/or flexibility to home school, and/or cannot move to a new school district.

Here are are the collective Benchmark Proficient/Advanced percentages, by school, for all 1,802 2013-14 LRSD fifth graders, as well as their fourth and third grade scores:

Elementary School	No. of Students 3rd (2011-12), 4th (2012-13), 5th (2013-14)	3rd, 4th, 5th  % Proficient/ Advanced Math	3rd, 4th, 5th % Proficient/ Advanced Literacy	Receiving Middle School
Bale	47, 48, 46	66%, 52%, 52%	60%, 64%, 63%
Baseline	42, 43, 47	50%, 47%, 38%	50%, 63%, 53%
Booker Magnet	86, 88, 87	72%, 66%, 43%	70%, 73%, 70%
Brady	55, 50, 54	71%, 58%, 59%	66%, 76%, 80%
Carver Magnet	78, 68, 60	86%, 84%, 78%	76%, 83%, 84%
Dodd	48, 42, 44	73%, 71%, 66%	73%, 76%, 73%
Don Roberts	125, 124, 122	93%, 94%, 89%	93%, 94%, 89%
Forrest Park	69, 71, 71	95%, 93%, 83%	92%, 99%, 99%
Franklin Incentive	47, 47, 50	68%, 43%, 28%	72%, 70%, 62%
Fulbright	72, 67, 63	89%, 84%, 75%	76%, 86%, 92%
Geyer Springs	23, 30, 25	39%, 53%, 16%	47%, 50%, 36%
Gibbs Magnet	48, 46, 41	88%, 83%, 76%	73%, 83%, 88%
Jefferson	68, 64, 63	94%, 91%, 81%	93%, 92%, 87%
King	94, 83, 79	57%, 59%, 42%	54%, 64%, 58%
Mabelvale	67, 83, 100	69%, 74%, 37%	64%, 81%, 75%
McDermott	47, 52, 59	74%, 75%, 49%	74%, 83%, 69%
Meadowcliff	49, 63, 60	70%, 61%, 65%	55%, 68%, 78%
Otter Creek	77, 76, 83	81%, 74%, 65%	74%, 84%, 77%
Pulaski Heights	59, 63, 71	86%, 79%, 76%	81%, 81%, 81%
Rockefeller	41, 43, 41	49%, 51%, 44%	61%, 56%, 61%
Romine Interdistrict	52, 55, 52	52%, 60%, 37%	56%, 70%, 61%
Stephens	76, 65, 49	55%, 59%, 49%	56%, 71%, 74%
Terry	67, 61, 56	68%, 88%, 84%	68%, 88%, 86%
Wakefield	97, 80, 76	71%, 71%,  65%	66%, 69%, 69%
Washington	73, 55, 54	55%, 64%, 42%	48%, 64%, 61%
Watson Intermediate	133, 128, 99	71%, 56%, 49%	61%, 57%, 63%
Western Hills	42, 45, 43	71%, 51%, 30%	45%, 58%, 49%
Williams Magnet	70, 72, 65	97%, 86%, 86%	96%, 90%, 92%
Wilson	48, 40, 42	67%, 80%, 59%	52%, 78%, 69%
TOTALS/AVERAGES	1,900, 1,852 (-2.5%), 1,802 (-2.7%)

The district’s 2013-14 fifth graders’ three-year Benchmark performance ranges from pockets of excellence to unacceptable inter- and intra-school math and literacy performance, decline and gaps.

The Good

• Schools Improving Between Third/Fifth Grades in Math – 1 of 29 (Terry)
• Schools Improving Between Third/Fifth Grades in Literacy – 19 of 29 (Bale, Baseline, Brady, Carver, Forrest Park, Fulbright, Gibbs, King, Mabelvale, Meadowcliff, Otter Creek, Romine, Stephens, Terry, Wakefield, Washington, Watson, Western Hills, Wilson)
• Identical Math, Literacy Scores in Fifth, Fourth, Third Grades, Respectively – Roberts

The Bad

• Schools Declining Between Third/Fifth Grades in Math – 28 of 29
• Schools Declining Between Third/Fifth Grades in Literacy – 10 of 29

The Ugly

• Schools with 20 or More Point Gap Between Proficient/Advanced in Math and Literacy – 8 of 29 (Booker Magnet, Brady, Franklin Incentive, Geyer Springs, Mabelvale, McDermott, Romine Interdistrict, Stephens)
• Schools’ Fifth Graders Below 50% Proficient/Advanced in Math – 13 of 29 (Baseline, Booker Magnet, Franklin Incentive, Geyer Springs, King, Mabelvale, McDermott, Rockefeller, Romine Interdistrict, Stephens, Washington, Watson Intermediate, Western Hills)
• Schools’ Fifth Graders Below 50% Proficient/Advanced in Literacy – 2 (Geyer Springs, Western Hills)

Geyer Springs, which has since been converted to a Gifted & Talented Academy, saw its 2011-12 third graders’ 39% Proficient/Advanced in Math plummet to 16% by the end of fifth grade (2013-14). The schools’ 47% Proficient/Advanced in Literacy third graders dropped to 36% by the end of fifth grade. Had it not been converted, over strenuous objection by some board members, Geyer Springs would have been the district’s seventh school in Academic Distress.

In three years, Western Hills’ fifth graders dropped 41 points (71% to 30%) for those Proficient/Advanced in Math, while performing at 49% Proficient/Advanced in Literacy. 

Franklin Incentive’s fifth graders dropped 40 points from third grade in Math (68% to 28%) and ten points in Literacy (72% to 62%), for a 34 point difference between Math and Literacy performance.

Mablevale’s fifth graders dropped 37 points in Math (74% to 37%) between fourth and fifth grades, and had a 38 point difference between Math and Literacy performance.

*** 

When 13 of 29 (45%) LRSD 2013-14 fifth grade classes performed at less than 50% Proficient/Advanced in Math and 2 less than 50% Proficient/Advanced in both Math and Literacy, one can readily see why two of six (33.33%) receiving LRSD middle schools are in Academic Distress (three-year average of less than 50% Proficient/Advanced in Math/Literacy), and five of six (83%) are either Priority (lowest performing 5% in state) or Focus Schools (lowest performing 10% in state).

And since the decline continues in middle schools, three of five receiving high schools are in Academic Distress (60%) and four of five (80%) are Priority or Focus Schools.

That means 83% of LRSD secondary schools are among the lowest performing 10% of 1,050 public schools in Arkansas.

With the superintendent’s ill-advised fight against charter schools, the battle to save, improve and grow the Little Rock School District seems to have divided into two camps:

• Those who believe the answer lies in subsidizing low(er) performers with high(er) performers so the schools’, districts’ numbers improve; or
• Those, like parents, who believe improving individual performance of all students should be prioritized over any delivery system.

We pray the latter prevails, as the former is nothing more than a Ponzi scheme.

Source: http://www.officeforeducationpolicy.org/arkansas-schools-data-benchmark-examinations