New Research Finds Smaller is Better in Arkansas -- Rural Policy Matters, Volume 4, Number 3 (March 2002)

As the Arkansas Supreme Court considers its upcoming ruling in the Lake View school finance case, and the state's Blue Ribbon Commission on Public Education considers how to provide an equitable education for all of Arkansas' schoolchildren, a report recently released by the Rural Trust indicates that one of the options being considered -- consolidation of school districts -- would hurt, rather than help, student achievement in Arkansas.

Researchers from Ohio University analyzed test scores from every Arkansas school on seven state-mandated tests to determine if students from low-income communities do better in small schools and districts, or in large ones. Their conclusion is that, across the board, smaller schools and smaller districts are most effective in reducing the predictable effects of poverty over student achievement.

Included in the results discussed in Small Works in Arkansas: How Poverty and the Size of Schools and Districts Affect School Performance in Arkansas is the finding that smaller schools are most effective in reducing the negative effects of poverty when they are part of smaller districts. Smaller schools are particularly important for African American communities. The relationship between school size, poverty, and student achievement is as much as three times greater in schools with the highest percentage of African American students.

Small Works in Arkansas: How Poverty and the Size of Schools and Districts Affect School Performance in Arkansas is available online at www.ruraledu.org. For a printed copy, call the Rural Trust at (703) 243-1487.