JKCF News: Arkansas Times, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Foundation says Arkansas must do more to help talented low-income students

By Benjamin Hardy
April 1, 2015
Arkansas Times

 EXCELLENCE GAP: Arkansas, like most states, needs to do better. - JACK KENT COOKE FOUNDATION

  • JACK KENT COOKE FOUNDATION
  • EXCELLENCE GAP: Arkansas, like most states, needs to do better.

A report from the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation gives Arkansas low-to-middling marks in its support of students with unusual academic potential, particularly those from lower-income households.

It ranks Arkansas about in the middle of the nation for its education policies (a “C”) and outcomes (a “D+”). To be fair, it gives Cs or Ds to most states.

Read the rest of the article here.

Georgia education policies undermine poor kids’ performance, group says

 

By Ty Tagami
April 1, 2015
Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Georgia’s education policies scored an uninspiring grade from a foundation committed to ending the performance gap between students from low- and high-income households.

The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, a scholarship-granting organization, gave Georgia’s policies a “C+” and said able students who come from poor households are harmed by rules or the lack of them. The group cited a prohibition on early entrance to kindergarten, the absence of policies for skipping grades, no mandate to train teachers for “advanced” learners and inadequate reporting on advanced education.

Read the rest of the article here.