About ADE
Mission: The Arkansas Department of Education strives to ensure that all children in the state have access to a quality education by providing educators, administrators and staff with leadership, resources and training.
The information below was researched and posted in May 2010. All data included is for the 2010-11 school year unless noted by **. This notation indicates that the information is reported for the 2009-2010 school year, which was the recent data available.
Education Fast Facts
| School Districts | 239 |
| School Year | 178 days |
| Students | 468,066 |
| Students Eligible for Free and Reduced Lunches** | 58.2% |
| Student Attendance** | 94.2% |
| Per Student Foundation Funding | $6,023 |
| Teachers | 35,511 |
| Teachers Completely Certified** | 96.3% |
| Teachers with Master's Degrees** | 44.2% |
| Teachers - Professional Development Hours Required | 60 |
| Teachers - Average Salary** | $46,601 |
Smart Points
In 2010, more than 60 percent of students at each tested grade level scored proficient or above on all Arkansas Benchmark Exams.
The 2011 edition of Education Week's Quality Counts ranked Arkansas's public education system 6th in the country, and in 2010, the report ranked Arkansas 2nd in terms of policies for teacher quality
In a June, 2007, editorial, U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings wrote, "States that have shown true leadership, such as Arkansas and Massachusetts, can inspire others to act."
Schools
| Elementary Schools | 576 | Students | 225,497 |
| Middle Schools/Junior High Schools | 213 | Students | 104,822 |
| High Schools | 293 | Students | 137,747 |
More public school information is available here.
