The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) is the latest reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. ESSA requires states to submit plans to the U.S. Department of Education (US ED) describing the state systems for evaluating school performance and holding schools accountable for improvement. States could submit their plans to the US ED by either April 3 or September 18, 2017. After receiving feedback on their plans from the US ED, states finalize their plans. State accountability systems take effect in school year 2017-18.

SREB developed this profile based on analysis of Arkansas’s plan approved by the US ED on January 16, 2018.

State Highlights: Expectations for College and Career Readiness

States are not required to include college- and career-readiness expectations in their accountability systems under ESSA. Many SREB states, however, did set college- and career-readiness expectations in their plans, in the form of long-term goals and school performance indicators. Arkansas included the following college- and career-readiness expectation in its plan.

1. School performance indicator for high schools: ESSA requires states to set an indicator for school quality or student success, which can but does not have to include such measures as school climate and safety, student engagement and college readiness. Arkansas’s indicator of school quality or student success awards points to high schools for students meeting any of the following postsecondary readiness requirements.
   • Earning a composite score of 19 or higher on the ACT exam
   • Meeting college- and career-readiness benchmarks on the ACT exam
   • Earning a final high school GPA of 2.8 or higher
   • Attaining annual course credits in community service learning, computer science, AP, IB, or dual enrollment 
   • Accumulating credits in grades nine through 11 to remain on-time to graduate in four years

Read about this expectation below in the profile.

Long-Term Goals

The Every Student Succeeds Act requires that states establish long-term goals for all students and student groups based on academic achievement, high school graduation rate and English language proficiency for English learners.

Arkansas established the following long-term goals.

Academic achievement

• By 2029, 80 percent of all students – and each student subgroup – will be proficient on Arkansas’s English language arts and math assessments.

Graduation rate

• By 2028, 94 percent of all students – and each student subgroup – will graduate from high school in four years; 97 percent will graduate in five years.

English language proficiency

• By 2029, 52 percent of English learners will be on track to English language proficiency.

School Performance Indicators

ESSA specifies a set of indicators that states must use to assess school performance. Indicators for all schools must include academic achievement as measured by proficiency on annual state assessments of English language arts and math in grades three through eight and once in high school. States must require 95 percent of students to participate in these assessments and factor this requirement into the school accountability system. States must also include two more indicators for all schools – English language proficiency for English learners and an indicator of school quality or student success, such as school climate and safety, student engagement and college readiness. For elementary and middle grades schools, states must include an additional academic indicator of the state’s choice, such as student growth on state assessments. For high schools, states must also include an indicator of four-year cohort graduation rate.

Arkansas established the following indicators of school performance.

Level	Indicators
All schools	Academic achievement: Schools must meet the 95 percent participation rate for all students and subgroups. Weighted achievement on state assessments will be adjusted by enrollment when the participation rate is less than 95 percent. English language proficiency: Progress towards English proficiency on state assessment – English Language Proficiency Assessment for the 21st Century School quality or student success: Attendance: rates of chronic absenteeism Science: weighted achievement and student growth on state assessment – ACT Aspire   Reading: meeting readiness on state assessment – ACT Aspire
Elementary and middle grades	Academic achievement: Weighted achievement on state English language arts and math assessments – ACT Aspire Other academic indicator: Student growth on state English language arts and math assessments – ACT Aspire
High schools	Academic achievement Weighted achievement on state English language arts and math assessments – ACT Aspire Student growth on state English language arts and math assessments – ACT Aspire Graduation rate Four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate Five-year adjusted cohort graduation rate School quality or student success: An accumulation of possible points earned for the following postsecondary readiness requirements. Earning a composite score of 19 or higher on the ACT exam Meeting college- and career-readiness benchmarks on the ACT exam Earning a final high school GPA of 2.8 or higher Attaining course credits in community service learning, computer science, AP, IB, or dual enrollment  Accumulating annual credits in grades nine through 11 to remain on-time to graduate in four years

Annual Meaningful Differentiation

The Every Student Succeeds Act requires that states use their performance indicators to differentiate the performance of all schools and to report performance for all students and all student subgroups. States have flexibility in assigning weight to their indicators, so long as their indicators of academic achievement, graduation rate and English language proficiency progress together receive much greater weight than their school quality or student success indicators.

Arkansas established the following framework for differentiating schools, weights for each indicator, and student subgroups.

Framework for differentiating schools in Arkansas

On an annual basis, Arkansas’s ESSA School Index will assign schools a numeric score for each indicator for all students. Schools will receive an overall numeric score, based on the sum of the numeric score assigned to each indicator multiplied by the weight of each category. Schools will also receive a rating notice of progress towards long-term goals (exceeding, catching up, keeping up or falling off) for each indicator and student subgroup.

Weights assigned to each indicator in Arkansas

Note. The English language proficiency progress indicator is combined with the other academic indicator (student growth) at the elementary and middle levels, and with the academic achievement (student growth) indicator at the high school level, and is weighted proportional to the number of English learners assessed on English language proficiency in a school. At the high school level, the four-year graduation rate is weighted at 10 percent, and the five-year rate is weighted at 5 percent.

Student subgroups in Arkansas

• Subgroups: For state accountability, Arkansas will focus on six student subgroups – economically disadvantaged students, students with disabilities, English learners, black students, Hispanic or Latino students, and white students. For reporting purposes only, Arkansas will include three additional subgroups – gifted students, former English learners, and a combined subgroup of English learners and former English learners.
• Size of subgroups: In instances in which schools do not meet the threshold of 15 students (n-count) for any of the subgroups for an indicator, the school will not be held accountable for performance on that indicator. In instances in which a school has an n-count of fewer than 10 students in a subgroup, the subgroup results will not be reported publicly.
• Use of subgroup data in school ratings: Arkansas uses subgroup performance data to identify schools for targeted support and improvement (TSI, see below) and publicly reports subgroup performance data for each indicator, as required by ESSA. 

Identifying, Serving and Exiting Schools from Needs Improvement Status

The Every Student Succeeds Act requires that states establish a methodology for identifying low-performing schools. States must identify two categories of schools at least once every three years: those that need Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) and those that need Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI). States may also establish other categories of schools, for example those not in need of improvement.

Arkansas established the following identification and exit criteria, and interventions to support schools.

Comprehensive Support and Improvement
How schools are identified	CSI schools: Identified every three years beginning in 2018-19, Title I schools in the bottom 5 percent statewide, based on overall ESSA School Index rating, by grade span CSI high schools: Identified every three years beginning in 2018-19, any high school with less than a 66.667 percent four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate Additional TSI schools that do not exit additional TSI status: Identified every three years beginning in 2021-22, Title I additional TSI schools that do not meet additional TSI exit criteria within three years Additional CSI schools: Identified every three years beginning in 2021-22, non-Title I additional TSI schools that do not meet additional TSI exit criteria within three years
Interventions to meet improvement needs	State will help local education agencies in supporting CSI schools by: Reviewing resource allocation and providing formula and competitive grants Assigning a liaison to the local education agency Providing assistance, including Guidance and tools to support planning, assessing needs, and determining interventions Technical assistance with supporting student subgroups, identifying evidence-based practices, and monitoring implementation and progress Monitoring use of funds and resources Support for evaluating progress After three years, the state will work with the local education agency to analyze the effectiveness of improvement efforts and identify next steps.
Criteria for exiting this category	After three years, schools can exit CSI status by: Exceeding the fifth percentile identification criterion Exceeding a 66.667 percent four-year adjusted cohort graduate rate or having a three-year weighted average four-year adjusted cohort graduate rate greater than 66.667 percent at the high school level Exceeding the fifth percentile identification criterion and demonstrating an upward trend in the ESSA School Index rating for consistently underperforming subgroups Schools that do not meet exit criteria, demonstrate an upward trend in their graduation rate, or demonstrate an upward trend in their ESSA School Index rating for student subgroups over three years will be placed in more rigorous CSI interventions. Schools that do not meet exit criteria, but that do demonstrate an upward trend in their graduation rate or in their ESSA School Index rating for student subgroups over three years will receive more support to accelerate their progress before the next identification cycle.
Targeted Support and Improvement
How schools are identified	TSI schools: Identified annually beginning in 2018-19, any school with a “consistently underperforming” student subgroup that performs as poorly as all students in the bottom 1 percent of all Title I schools statewide on all indicators in each of the three prior years Additional TSI schools: Identified every three years beginning in 2018-19, any school identified for TSI with one or more student subgroups that has performed as poorly as all students in any of the Title I schools in the bottom 5 percent statewide on all indicators
Interventions to meet improvement needs	State will help local education agencies in supporting TSI schools by: Providing formula and competitive grants to address needs identified through diagnostic review Providing assistance, including Guidance and tools to support root cause analysis Technical assistance with reviewing improvement plans, assessing needs, budgeting and allocating funds, and identifying resource equity gaps Monitoring the fidelity of plan implementation
Criteria for exiting this category	TSI schools: After two years, schools can exit TSI status by exceeding identification criteria Additional TSI schools: After two years, schools can exit additional TSI status by exceeding the identification criteria

This profile was prepared by Kim Anderson, SREB’s director of benchmarking college- and career-readiness standards, Mary Elizabeth Mira, SREB’s assistant director of benchmarking college- and career-readiness standards, Tiffany Harrison, SREB’s research associate for college- and career-readiness standards and Jeff Gagné, SREB’s director of policy analysis. For more information, please contact Kim Anderson at kim.anderson@sreb.org or Jeff Gagné at jeff.gagne@sreb.org.