Arkansas

Funding

Funding Breakdown Chart WARNING: Data below comes from federal and state policy offices, as opposed to budget division staff. Funding levels will not match exact dollar figures that states and school districts receive. While this data set can be used to help analyze policy and trends, it should not be used for local budgeting purposes.

Statewide Per-Pupil Expenditure	$6,740
Per-Pupil Expenditure Rank of 50 states and the District of Columbia (1=Highest Spending)	42
School Finance Inequity Among Districts in Per-Pupil Dollars	$729
School Finance Inequity Among Districts in Percentage Terms	10%
School Finance Equity Rank of 50 states and the District of Columbia (1=Most Equitable)	21
Total Federal Direct Aid (Title I & IDEA) to Arkansas FY 2006	$228,931,812
Total Federal Direct Aid Per Pupil	$484
NCLB Title I Estimated FY 2009 Grant Allocation	$150,964,284
NCLB Title I Actual FY 2008 Grant	$144,267,804
NCLB Title I Actual FY 2007 Grant	$122,031,484
NCLB Title I Actual FY 2006 Grant	$125,531,389
IDEA Part B Estimated FY 2009 Grant	$109,556,822
IDEA Part B Estimated FY 2008 Grant	$106,603,388
IDEA Part B Actual FY 2007 Grant	$105,159,110
IDEA Part B Actual FY 2006 Grant	$103,400,423
Impact Aid Basic Support Payments FY 2007	$407,311
Total School Food Funds FY 2007	$139,866,797
Federal School Meal Funds FY 2007	$128,149,397
Federal School Commodities Funds FY 2007	$11,717,400
Total School Food Funds FY 2006	$130,562,367
Federal School Meal Funds FY 2006	$121,320,842
Federal School Commodities Funds FY 2006	$9,241,525

Demographics

Racial/Ethnic Breakdown Asian: 1.4% Black: 23.0% Native American: 0.7% White: 68.2% Hispanic: 6.8% Other: 0.0%

Total Number of Students	473,256
Student Poverty Rate	20%
Student Poverty Rate Rank of 50 States and the District of Columbia (1=Lowest Poverty Rate)	44
Free and Reduced Priced Lunch Enrollment Rate	53%
White Students	322,634
Black Students	108,925
Native American Students	3,087
Asian Students	6,516
Hispanic Students	32,094
Percent English Language Learner	4%
Special Education Participation Rate	12%

Achievement

Achievement Overview NCLB scores are based on state-defined standards, while NAEP standards are set by the federal government and are consistent nationwide. Percentage figures presented reflect the proportion of students learning at grade level, according to state NCLB and national NAEP standards, respectively. The percentage of students deemed proficient as per NCLB scores tends to be higher than the percentage deemed proficient as per NAEP scores, because state-defined standards of proficiency tend to be lower.

	State Defined Proficiency (NCLB, 2004-05)	Nationally Defined Proficiency (NAEP, 2005)	National Rank Based on 2005 NAEP Results
Grade 4 Students Proficient in Reading	51%	30%	29
Grade 4 Students Proficient in Math	50%	34%	33
Grade 8 Students Proficient in Reading	57%	26%	34
Grade 8 Students Proficient in Math	33%	22%	40
	State Defined Graduation Rate	Nationally Defined Graduation Rate	National Rank Based on National Results
Graduation Rate 2005	81.3%	75.7%	30

Compare to Other States

Use the form below to select data on which to make a comparison, and determine just how similar other states must be to yours for comparison purposes (e.g. within X percent of Arkansas's funding, number of students, etc.)

Number of Students:	All +/- 5 percent +/- 10 percent +/- 15 percent +/- 20 percent +/- 25 percent
Percentage of Students in Poverty:	All +/- 5 percent +/- 10 percent +/- 15 percent +/- 20 percent +/- 25 percent
Percentage of Black and Hispanic Students:	All +/- 5 percent +/- 10 percent +/- 15 percent +/- 20 percent +/- 25 percent
Statewide Expenditure Per Pupil:	All +/- 5 percent +/- 10 percent +/- 15 percent +/- 20 percent +/- 25 percent
Average School Finance Inequity Among Districts:	All +/- 5 percent +/- 10 percent +/- 15 percent +/- 20 percent +/- 25 percent
NCLB Title I Actual FY 2007 Grant Per Pupil:	All +/- 5 percent +/- 10 percent +/- 15 percent +/- 20 percent +/- 25 percent
IDEA Part B Actual FY 2007 Grant Per Pupil:	All +/- 5 percent +/- 10 percent +/- 15 percent +/- 20 percent +/- 25 percent
Total FY 2007 Federal Direct Aid Per Pupil:	All +/- 5 percent +/- 10 percent +/- 15 percent +/- 20 percent +/- 25 percent
Grade 4 Reading Proficiency:	All +/- 5 percent +/- 10 percent +/- 15 percent +/- 20 percent +/- 25 percent
Grade 4 Math Proficiency:	All +/- 5 percent +/- 10 percent +/- 15 percent +/- 20 percent +/- 25 percent

Notes & Sources

STATE-LEVEL DATA

FUNDING

1. Statewide Per-Pupil Expenditure
   U.S. Census Bureau, School Year 2003-2004
   http://www2.census.gov/govs/school/04f33pub.pdf
2. School Finance Inequity
   Education Finance Incentive Grant Program Definition of Equity, No Child Left Behind, Title I, Part A, Subpart 2, Sec. 1125A
   Note: Hawaii and the District of Columbia only have one school district, so their weighted coefficient is 0 as per Sec. 1125A of Title I of NCLB. Alaska, Kansas, and New Mexico qualify as equalized under the Impact Aid program standard (Title VIII, Sec8009(c)(1)), so they have been assigned a weighted coefficient of 10 as per Sec. 1125A.
3. NCLB Title I
   Fiscal Years 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, Estimated 2009 (Bush Budget)
   U.S. Department of Education
   http://www.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/statetables/08stbyprogram.xls
4. IDEA Part B
   Fiscal Years 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, Estimated 2009 (Bush Budget)
   U.S. Department of Education
   http://www.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/statetables/08stbyprogram.xls
5. Impact Aid Basic Support Payments
   National Association of Federally Impacted Schools, Fiscal Year 2007
6. School Food Programs
   Child Nutrition Program Data, Food and Nutrition Service – USDA, Fiscal Years 2004, 2006, 2007
   http://www.fns.usda.gov/pd/cnpmain.htm

DEMOGRAPHICS

1. Student Poverty Rate
   Poverty Rate for School-Age Children, Ages 5-17
   U.S. Census Bureau Small Area Income & Poverty Estimates, 2004
   http://www.census.gov/cgi-bin/saipe/national.cgi?year=2004&ascii=#SA51
2. Free and Reduced Price Lunch Enrollment Rate
   National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, School Year 2005-2006
   http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/
3. Total Number of Students, Disaggregated by Race
   National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, School Year 2005-2006
   http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/

ACHIEVEMENT

1. State Defined Proficiency Level
   Arkansas Benchmark Exam, State Results, 2004
   http://normessasweb.uark.edu/src1/State304.php
2. Nationally Defined Proficiency Level
   National Assessment of Educational Progress, 2005
   http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/

DISTRICT-LEVEL DATA

FUNDING

1. District Per-Pupil Expenditure
   National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, School Year 2004-2005
   http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/
2. District Operating Budget
   U.S. Census Bureau, Public Elementary-Secondary Education Finance Data, 2006
   http://www.census.gov/govs/www/school06.html
3. NCLB Title I
   Fiscal Years 2004, 2006, 2008
   Thompson Publishing, Title I Online
   http://www.thompson.com/public/nclb/fundinginformation/fundinginformation.html
   Estimated Fiscal Year 2009 (Bush Budget)
   Congressional Research Service, supplied by the Office of Senator Christopher J. Dodd (D-CT)
4. IDEA Part B
   Fiscal Years 2004, 2006
   Arkansas's State Special Education Department
   Fiscal Year 2008 at Conference Level, Estimated Fiscal Year 2009 (Bush Budget)
   These grants have been estimated based on the FY 2008 conference appropriation or Bush’s budget request for IDEA Part B and each district’s FY 2006 grant.
5. Impact Aid Basic Support Payments
   National Association of Federally Impacted Schools, Fiscal Year 2007

DEMOGRAPHICS

1. Student Poverty Rate
   U.S. Census Bureau Small Area Income & Poverty Estimates, 2004
   http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/saipe/district.html
2. Free and Reduced Price Lunch Enrollment Rate
   National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, School Year 2005-2006
   http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/
3. Total Number of Students, Disaggregated by Race
   National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, School Year 2005-2006
   http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/

ACHIEVEMENT

1. District NCLB
   Arkansas Benchmark Exam, Grade 4, 2004
   http://normessasweb.uark.edu/reportcards/select.php

DEFINITIONS

Per-Pupil Expenditure. Statewide per-pupil expenditure equals the total amount of revenue paid out by school systems in the state divided by total school enrollment. It includes funds from federal, state, and local sources and funds spent on day to day operating expenses, such as teacher salaries. It does not include capital expenses, such as school construction.

School Finance Inequity. School finance equity figures presented reflect a definition contained in Title I of the No Child Left Behind Act. That definition examines the differences in per-pupil spending among school districts across a given state. The per-pupil expenditure for every school district is compared to the average per-pupil expenditure for the state and weighted according to size and poverty level.

Indirect aid is support provided for school districts through the federal tax code. For example, a community can use local property taxes to finance local schools, and it costs taxpayers less because local property taxes are deductible on federal income tax returns.

Direct Aid. Direct aid is education funding that comes from the federal government and is distributed directly to states and then given to individual school districts. The figures presented here include only the two largest direct aid funding streams -- the Title I program for disadvantaged students and the IDEA special education program for children with disabilities.

Title I. Title I of the No Child Left Behind Act authorizes direct aid from the federal government to states and school districts to support the additional education needs of children from low-income families.

IDEA. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) authorizes direct aid from the federal government to states and school districts to support the additional education needs of children with disabilities.

Impact Aid Basic Support Payments. Title VIII of the No Child Left Behind Act authorizes direct aid from the federal government to school districts that educate large numbers of "federally connected" children or have been impacted by the lost property tax revenue on federal lands (i.e. military bases or Native American reservations).

Student Poverty Rate. The student poverty rate reflects the number of children in a state ages 5 to 17 living beneath the Census Bureau's poverty line. In 2004, the poverty income threshold for a family of four was $19,157.

Free and Reduced Priced Lunch Enrollment Rate. The student poverty rate based on free and reduced price lunch eligibility reflects the number of students in the state who are certified to receive free or reduced price lunches based on their family incomes or participation in Food Stamp or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families programs.

Total School Food Funds. The National School Lunch Act authorizes the distribution of federal funds to states and school districts to provide nutritious lunches, breakfasts and snacks to low income students at free or reduced prices. This number represents the total funding each state received for all school food programs including meals and commodities.

Federal School Meal Funds. The National School Lunch Act authorizes the distribution of federal funds to states and school districts to provide nutritious lunches, breakfasts and snacks to low income students at free or reduced prices. This number represents the amount of money each state received for school meals.

Federal School Commodities Funds. The Department of Agriculture provides funds for states to distribute commodity foods to students eligible for free or reduced priced lunch. This number represents the amount of money each state received for commodities.

Percent English Language Learner. The percent English Language Learner data reflect the number of children in a state who qualify as Limited English Proficient according to state law.

Special Education Participation Rate. The Special Education Participation Rate reflect the number of children in a state who have Individualized Education Plans under IDEA law.

Achievement. State-defined proficiency standards of what students should know and be able to do in each grade are developed separately by each state. States use these standards to test and assess whether students are performing adequately, as required under the No Child Left Behind Act.

Nationally-defined proficiency standards of what students should know and be able to do are developed by the National Assessment Governing Board. The Board administers a national test to a representative sample of students-the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)-that measures whether students are performing at grade level.

Percentage figures presented reflect the proportion of students learning at grade level according to state NCLB and national NAEP standards, respectively.

Graduation Rate. State defined graduation rates are currently calculated using different formulas depending on the state. States use these rates to determine AYP status.