§ 6-15-402 - Purpose. - Arkansas Statutes

6-15-402. Purpose.

(a) (1) (A) The purpose of this subchapter is to provide the statutory framework necessary to ensure that all students in the public schools of this state have an equal opportunity to demonstrate grade-level academic proficiency through the application of knowledge and skills in core academic subjects consistent with state curriculum frameworks, performance standards, and assessments.

(B) (i) The State of Arkansas recognizes and declares that students who are not performing at grade-level standards of academic proficiency are especially harmed by social promotion because they are not equipped with the necessary academic skills to be successful and productive members of society.

(ii) For this reason, the Arkansas Comprehensive Testing, Assessment, and Accountability Program will emphasize point-in-time intervention and remediation upon the discovery that any student is not performing at grade level.

(C) The state is committed to all students having the opportunity to perform at their age-appropriate grade level and beyond.

(2) This subchapter is constructed around a system that includes statewide indicators, individual school improvement indicators, and a locally generated school accountability narrative. The total program shall be applied to each school in the state public school system.

(3) This subchapter is designed to be a multiyear commitment to assess the academic progress and performance of Arkansas's public school students, classrooms, schools, and school districts.

(4) (A) It shall also be the purpose of this subchapter to:

(i) Provide information needed to improve the public schools by measuring annual learning gains of all students through longitudinal tracking and analysis of value-added computations of student gains against a national cohort to inform parents of the educational progress of their public school children; and

(ii) Inform the public of the performance of schools.

(B) The program shall be designed to:

(i) Assess the annual learning gains of each student toward achieving the academic content standards appropriate for the student's grade level;

(ii) Provide data for building effective staff development programs and school accountability and recognition;

(iii) Identify the educational strengths and weaknesses of students and help the teacher tailor instruction to the needs of the individual student;

(iv) Assess how well academic goals and performance standards are met at the classroom, school, school district, and state levels;

(v) Provide information to aid in the evaluation and development of educational programs and policies;

(vi) Provide information on the performance of Arkansas students compared with other students from across the United States; and

(vii) Identify best practices and schools that are in need of improving their practices.

(b) The purposes of the assessment and accountability program developed under this subchapter shall be to:

(1) Improve student learning and classroom instruction;

(2) Provide public accountability by:

(A) Mandating expected achievement levels;

(B) Reporting on school and school district performance; and

(C) Applying a framework for state action for a school or school district that fails expected achievement levels as defined in the Arkansas Comprehensive Testing, Assessment, and Accountability program rules and regulations; and

(3) Provide evaluation data of school and school district performance in order to assist policymakers at all levels in decision making.

(c) The priorities of the assessment and accountability program developed pursuant to the provisions of this subchapter shall include:

(1) All students to have an opportunity to demonstrate increased learning and completion at all levels, to graduate from high school, and to enter postsecondary education or the workforce without remediation;

(2) Students to demonstrate that they meet the expected academic standards consistently at all levels of their education;

(3) Academic standards for every level of the grades kindergarten through twelve (K-12) education system to be aligned and education financial resources to be aligned with student performance expectations at each level of the grades kindergarten through twelve (K-12) education system; and

(4) The quality of educational leadership at all levels of grades kindergarten through twelve (K-12) education to be improved.