By ACRE Director Jeremy Horpedahl From reading groups and guest speakers, to professional development for educators and media mentions by the White House, ACRE has had another successful semester of economics, education, and policy research. We hope you’ve been able to come to one of our events on campus, or read some of our many […]
UCA Students Participate in Reading Group Summit
By Elise Ormonde, ACRE Research & Program Coordinator UCA students participating in the ACRE Fall 2023 Economics Reading group had the exciting opportunity to travel to Dallas, Texas for a weekend summit hosted by the Southern Methodist University (SMU). This event was a collaboration between UCA, SMU, and Western Michigan University, featuring student reading discussions […]
UCA Undergraduates Attend Women in Economics Symposium
By Terra Aquia, ACRE Program Coordinator During the legislative session ACRE staff are frequently focused on bills and testifying before committee. But our dedication to education and outreach to students is a pillar of ACRE’s mission and presents opportunities for student involvement year-round. Recently, ACRE Policy Analyst Dr. Joyce Ajayi and ACRE Program Coordinator Terra […]
Towards Web Transparency at Lower Levels of Government: How are School Districts Reporting Procurement Processes and Outcomes?
By Joyce Ajayi, Mavuto Kalulu, and David Lee Year after year we are seeing more laws and initiatives go into effect to encourage local levels of government in Arkansas to have more online transparency. For example, Act 564 recently mandated all Arkansas counties to publish their annual budget and financial reports online. Why is this important? Local […]
Are charter schools harming public school students?
By Caleb Taylor Does charter school competition harm students in traditional public schools? According to research conducted by ACRE experts, the answer is no. ACRE Policy Analyst Dr. Mavuto Kalulu, ACRE Scholar and UCA Associate Professor of Economics Dr. Thomas Snyder, and UCA Mathematics Graduate Student Saliou N. Ouattara were recently published in the Fall […]
Myth 5: Traditional Public Schools will be Forced to shut down Because they can’t Compete with Open Enrollment Charter Schools
By Dr. Mavuto Kalulu When a charter school opens in the vicinity of a traditional public school, some people fear that the decreased enrollment caused by students transferring will cause the traditional public schools to shut down. When a public school shuts down, children are assigned to other schools, which they and their parents may […]
Myth 3: Open Enrollment Charter Schools Hire Underqualified Teachers
Opponents criticize open enrollment charter schools for employing “underqualified” teachers. The Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) defines a highly qualified teacher as one who is licensed, demonstrates subject-matter competence by passing a content knowledge test, and holds at least a bachelor’s degree in the subject that he or she will teach. In contrast to traditional […]
Myth 1: Open Enrollment Charter Schools Don’t Enroll Many Black or Hispanic Students
Arkansas has a history of severe racial problems in its K–12 schools. A case in point is the infamous 1957 Little Rock Nine case, in which a group of nine African American students were denied enrollment at the all-white Central High public school. Over the years, laws have been enacted to ensure that public schools […]
Dispelling Myths About Open Enrollment Charter Schools in Arkansas
By Dr. Mavuto Kalulu Arkansas offers two types of public charter schools for students seeking an alternative to traditional public schools. Conversion charter schools, first authorized in 1995, are public schools that are converted to charter schools. They have more autonomy than traditional public schools while still remaining under the school district’s control. Only students residing […]
Can We Simply Raise the Bar on Teacher Quality?
By Dr. Mavuto Kalulu Academic research shows that teacher effectiveness plays a critical role in student learning. One study (Hanushek, 2011) shows that the difference between an effective teacher and an ineffective one can be as much as a year’s worth of learning. In order to ensure the quality of teachers, states require teachers to pass qualifying exams, […]