The View from the OEP Blog
More Than a Letter Grade: Why the Real Story of Arkansas Schools Runs Deeper
By Ashley Daniel They say, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” In Arkansas public education today, that wisdom feels especially urgent. A school’s letter grade might grab attention, appear in...
Pathway to a Brighter Future for Child Care in Arkansas
Pathway to a Brighter Future for Child Care in Arkansas The future of early childhood care and education in Arkansas is full of exciting possibilities! Our latest policy brief, Breaking Barriers to...
Arkansas Schools Are Going Phone-Free — Here’s What Principals Really Think
It seems like everyone—from parents at the pickup line to lawmakers at the Capitol—is talking about kids and their phones. And not much of it is good news. Concerns about distraction, social media,...
Early Child Care – Part 2: What the New SRA Rules Actually Mean for Children, Families, and Providers
What the New SRA Rules Actually Mean for Children, Families, and Providers by Hannah Denker What is the SRA program? In Part 1 of this blog series, we explained what Arkansas’s School Readiness...
New Report Alert: “Beating the Odds” is Here!
We’re thrilled to announce the release of our latest OEP Awards: Beating the Odds report. This one is a favorite around here because it tells a story we deeply believe in: Academic Growth for ALL...
2025 OEP Growth Awards!
Hooray! Today we are so excited to announce the winners of this year's OEP Growth Awards! We love to celebrate the schools where students are learning SO MUCH! OEP is focused on recognizing Arkansas...
Early Child Care – Part 1 of 2: What’s Behind Arkansas’s School Readiness Assistance Child Care Subsidies?
What’s Going on with School Readiness Assistance Child Care Subsidies in Arkansas? by Hannah Denker The School Readiness Assistance (SRA) program helps low-income families afford child care while...
New Letter Grades Reward Growth!
2025 A-F letter grades are out, and here at OEP we were super interested to see how our state schools performed and what we can do to help kids learn. Overall, there as wide distribution, with 12%...
Tracking Early Childhood in Arkansas: A New Baseline for Key Performance Indicators
by Hannah Denker Click here to read the Arkansas Education Report Click here to read the Policy Brief Early childhood care and education (ECE) is essential for Arkansas’s children, families, and...
Got Data? Confronting Chronic Absenteeism
by Kim Shaw and Sarah McKenzie This week, OEP sent every Arkansas superintendent a report on chronic absenteeism (CA). The reports include both statewide trends and district-specific data from the...
Beyond the Numbers: Why Stories Give Data Its Soul
by Ashley Daniel As educational researchers and statisticians in Arkansas, our daily work revolves around analyzing data, building models, and interpreting outcomes. Much of our time is spent with...
Fall Happenings at OEP
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Department of Education Reform at the University of Arkansas and we have several upcoming events! The department, which houses OEP, was established in the...
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