Education In Arkansas Topic Of Town Hall Meeting

KATV’s Matt Mershon reports:

Headlining topics included Common Core, student assessments and the recent state takeover of the Little Rock School District. It was an hour-long program geared toward answering the big questions when it comes to education in the Natural State.

Polling from partners Talk Business & Politics, Hendrix College and Impact Management helped steer questions – the first question tackling the direction of education in Arkansas. According to polling of 400 registered Arkansas voters, 51% believed education is not on the right track, 35% believe it’s moving in the right direction and 14% were undecided.

The results of polling on the state of education didn’t surprise new Department of Education Director Johnny Key.

“I’ve seen where we were in 2003-2004, where you had a number of districts that didn’t even offer AP classes to their students,” said Key, adding he believes there’s still work to do but they are headed in the right direction.

Many questions focused on Key and the ADE’s role in the takeover of LRSD. Several questions posed by audience members concerned Key’s qualifications as the leader of the state’s education leg.

“I view my role as much in the way that I did in the senate, bringing all the pieces together, all the right people together,” responded Key.

Surprising polling regarding Common Core showed support for the concept, but not the program itself. The question was posed: Should states work together to create standards? Of those polled – 74% strongly/somewhat supported the concept, 18% strongly/somewhat opposed, with 7% undecided.

When asked to describe reactions to the phrase “Common Core,” many respondents had negative perceptions.

“The broader conversation about are we over testing, are we burdening our classroom and the teaching and learning experience with testing – I think that’s a different and very important conversation,” said Dr. Jay Barth, professor at Hendrix College.

Barth made sure to spell out that testing and Common Core are not the same. The conversation on the stresses of standardized testing came after the show ended broadcast. Panelists fielded several questions from audience members afterward.

Watch the video or leave comments here.