Arkansas Awarded Federal Education Grant

The State of Arkansas is receiving some Federal Money for Education.

The complete release below courtesy KTLO:

The Arkansas Division of Elementary and Secondary Education was recently awarded $2,145,418 by the U.S. Department of Education through the federal competitive grants for state assessment program. The federal money will be used to support the “Making Improved Decisions for Students On the Cusp of Alternate Assessment Participation Using Multiple Measures of Academic Achievement from Multiple Sources,” or MIDAS.
The project is said to address the complex issues surrounding how to help teachers develop the knowledge and skills needed to successfully instruct students with disabilities, including English learners with disabilities, who move from the alternate assessment based on alternate academic achievement standards to the state general assessment.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, through these awards, the Department is encouraging high-quality, innovative and authentic assessments that advance teaching and learning and continue­­ state effo­rts to provide timely and meaningful information to educators, parents, and students themselves. Funded initiatives will support multilingual learners and students with disabilities, improve the utility and instructional relevance of assessment results, and develop local capacity to design and implement performance-based assessments.