Education Department releases provisional cut scores on new test

by Steve Brawner (BRAWNERSTEVE@MAC.COM)

Two-thirds of Arkansas students in grades 3-10 scored below “proficient” in English language arts on the state’s new ATLAS end-of-year exam, according to a system of cut scores that Arkansas Department of Education officials recommended to the State Board of Education in a workshop Wednesday (Oct. 9).

The State Board will vote on approving the cut scores Oct. 10. If that happens, the department will further compute the data at individual, student, school and state levels, Secretary of Education Jacob Oliva said in a briefing with reporters prior to the workshop.

The Department of Education has been developing the new Arkansas Teaching and Learning Assessment System (ATLAS) for the past year and a half. It replaces the ACT Aspire.

Education Department releases provisional cut scores on new test

UAMS Researchers Find Student Behavior Improves When Schools Serve Breakfast after Class Begins

By Kev' Moye

LITTLE ROCK — A research team, which included Andres Cuadros-Menaca, Ph.D., and Michael Thomsen, Ph.D., from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences’ (UAMS) Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health, discovered that schools providing breakfast after the school day begins (Breakfast After the Bell) experienced a decrease in student behavior issues.

The study, published by the American Journal of Agricultural Economics, revealed that because of Breakfast after the Bell, more than 1.3 million additional breakfasts were served to Arkansas students in grades 3-7 during the 2018-2019 school year. That was the final year of the study and the last school year before the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered schools across the state.

https://news.uams.edu/2022/05/12/uams-researchers-find-student-behavior-improves-when-schools-serve-breakfast-after-class-begins/

Michael Thomsen, Ph.D., along with Andres Cuadros-Menaca, Ph.D., were part of a study that showed how students receiving breakfast while in class has multiple benefits.

Governor Hutchinson Issues Statement on Day of Prayer for Arkansas Students

LITTLE ROCK – Governor Asa Hutchinson issued the following statement ahead of the first "Day of Prayer for Arkansas Students" on September 29.

“On this Day of Prayer for Arkansas Students, I ask all Arkansans to pray, meditate, or otherwise reflect on success, health, and safety for our students, teachers, school administrators, and school districts. Prayer has been important in our nation's history for times of strife and conflict to days of drought and days of plenty. Prayer remains important in this time as well."

"A Day of Prayer for Arkansas Students" to be observed annually on the last Wednesday of September was created by Act 902 of 2021. Governor Hutchinson's proclamation for this day can be viewed HERE.