Arkansas

Arkansas standards are succinctly stated and are easy to read and understand. Content is easily drawn from some standards, and examples are sometimes included to clarify intent:

Identify the change over time Ex. We have recorded the morning and afternoon temperatures all week. Which day had the greatest change in temperature? (grade 3)

The use of examples is an excellent feature, and, as the above standard shows, often necessary. Still, many standards are not provided with examples and/or are far too broad:

Describe repeating and growing patterns in the environment (grade 2)
Develop an understanding of the associative and zero properties of multiplication using objects (grade 4)

It is not clear how students might use objects to show that zero times any number is zero.

Furthermore, many other standards pay insufficient attention to language. For example, the following fourth-grade standard implies that the size of a fraction can vary. This is not true.

Utilize models, benchmarks, and equivalent forms to recognize that the size of the whole determines the size of the fraction (grade 4)

In addition to confusing language, the organization of the standards can sometimes be confusing. Related standards may appear under different topics. For example, standards on whole-number addition and subtraction in third grade appear across many topics, including “Computational Fluency-Addition and Subtraction,” “Whole-number Operations,” and “Application of Computation.”

The standards for high school are generally clearer, for example:

Write an equation in slope-intercept, point-slope, and standard forms given

• two points
• a point and y-intercept
• x-intercept and y-intercept
• a point and slope
• a table of data
• the graph of a line (Algebra I)

There are some serious issues with the clarity of these standards, particularly in K-8. This is somewhat mitigated by the use of examples within the standards, and the high school standards are clearer. But the standards “do not quite provide a complete guide to users,” and receive a Clarity and Specificity score of two points out of three. (See Common Grading Metric.)

Content Priorities

Arkansas has many standards, generally around fifty per grade. With so many standards, guidance as to the most important content is important. However, there is no explicit setting of priorities. Standards on arithmetic comprise less than a third of the standards in the elementary grades—an insufficiently small presence given the importance of mastering arithmetic skills at this age.

Content Strengths

The standards cover the basic structure of arithmetic—such as the commutative, associative, and distributive properties—as well as the inverse nature of addition and subtraction and of multiplication and division. The number line is used throughout. Although arithmetic is not culminated appropriately, some developmental standards are strong, such as:

Write a fraction to name part of a whole, part of a set, a location on a number line, and the division of whole numbers, using models up to 12/12 (grade 4)

The high school standards are generally strong. The Algebra and Geometry courses are solid, and the Pre-Calculus course includes much STEM-ready material. Algebra II includes this important standard on the graph of a quadratic:

Determine the maximum or minimum values and the axis of symmetry both graphically and algebraically (Algebra II)

Content Weaknesses

The most glaring problem with Arkansas’s standards is the end product of the study of arithmetic. Automaticity with number facts is covered inadequately with:

Demonstrate computational fluency (accuracy, efficiency and flexibility) in addition facts with addends through 9 and corresponding subtractions (grade 2)
Demonstrate computational fluency (accuracy, efficiency and flexibility) in addition facts with addends through 9 and corresponding subtractions (grade 2)

In the development of whole-number arithmetic, standard methods are not specified. Methods are further undermined by the use of both technology and the “variety of algorithms” that students are expected to develop. The capstone standards for whole-number arithmetic are:

Develop and use a variety of algorithms with computational fluency to perform whole-number operations using addition and subtraction (up to five-digit numbers), multiplication (up to three-digit x two-digit), division (up to two-digit divisor) interpreting remainders, including real-world problems (grade 5)

Apply, with and without appropriate technology, algorithms with computational fluency to perform whole-number operations (+, -, x, /) (grade 6)

This lack of standard procedures and the inclusion of technology continue beyond whole-number arithmetic to fractions:

Develop and analyze algorithms for computing with fractions (including mixed numbers) and decimals and demonstrate, with and without technology, computational fluency in their use and justify the solution [sic] (grade 6)

Common denominators are never mentioned.

The standards are strong in high school, but the use of technology and manipulatives is pervasive. For example, students are expected to solve equations “algebraically (including the use of manipulatives).” Students in high school algebra should have some facility with abstraction, and manipulatives are inappropriate in standards at this level.

Arkansas’s standards are strong in places. High school content is covered well, including STEM-ready content. However, in the elementary grades, arithmetic is not prioritized or appropriately culminated. These serious problems result in a Content and Rigor score of three points out of seven. (See Common Grading Metric.)