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The Arkansas Department of Education has received a $3.6 million federal grant that will allow educators to improve instruction and student learning.
Arkansas is one of 10 states receiving nearly $30 million worth of the U.S. Department of Education’s Competitive Grants for State Assessments awards. The program helps states develop and implement “high-quality, innovative, and authentic assessments” that will improve teaching and learning, and provide timely information about student progress, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
The federal agency announced the awards Wednesday, along with a record $179 million in new Comprehensive Literacy State Development Grant awards, which are focused on supporting academic acceleration.
According to an ADE press release, Arkansas will use its grant to:
Partner with select districts to pilot new teaching and assessment practices
Develop professional learning that empowers educators to interpret and use test data to guide instruction and learning
Strengthen collaboration among educators who use and share data
Expand the program statewide
Create micro-credentials in data and assessment literacy that educators can add to their licenses
“We are pleased to receive this grant to improve data literacy among educators in Arkansas,” Education Secretary Jacob Oliva said in a statement. “As we prepare to release test scores next month from the new assessment administered this spring, the grant will help us provide ongoing supports to educators to assist with understanding the results and using them to guide student learning.”
The state education department developed a new statewide assessment to replace the ACT Aspire exam in 2023. The Arkansas Teaching and Learning Assessment System (ATLAS) was rolled out to grades 3-10 this spring.
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