October 20, 2011 - Wichita - A close look at the Kansas Department of Education 2011 Report Card contains some good news and some bad news.  The good news is that Kansas students are showing improvement; the, bad news is that achievement levels for many students remain unacceptably low and that achievement gaps for  minorities and low income students persist.
 
Only 63% of Kansas students are able to read grade-appropriate material with full comprehension and only 53% of 11th grade students can do so.  For all grade levels, 45% of Hispanics, 38% of African Americans and 48% of low income kids meet that standard.  Breakdowns of the KSDE data for all districts and those subgroups are available at KansasOpenGov.org.

'Just spend more' isn't the answer and in fact there is no silver bullet solution.  But, a new paper from Kansas Policy Institute education policy fellow John Merrifield, Ph.D., offers a path forward.  Dr. Merrifield examines Kansas' national and international performance and recommends transforming public education with a broad array of reforms to help kids reach their full potential and prepare them to compete in a global economy. 

Merrifield writes, "The U.S. systems perform so badly that...Kansas should not take much comfort in the high ranking of its 4th and 8th graders.  Yes, it is even worse elsewhere, but the best states are at the top of the cellar stairs.  School choice is not about creating better learning opportunities for just those who chose an alternative but for all children."

The Global Report Card (GRC) clearly demonstrates the U.S. system is behind much of the rest of the world and is struggling to get out of the student achievement cellar.  The data used by the GRC show only 40.2 percent of Kansas students in the Class of 2011 are proficient in math and 35.2 percent are proficient in reading.  GRC uses National Assessment of Educational Progress score from the U.S. Department of Education and the international PISA exam.

"Other states are providing more school choice to parents of low-income and special needs kids...expanding online learning...changing tenure and compensation laws to reward and attract effective teachers...implementing accountability systems so parents clearly understand how their students and schools are performing," said KPI President Dave Trabert.  "It's good that KSDE tests show some improvement but we do kids no favors by reducing standards and pretending to have high achievement levels. 

Trabert concluded, "Some kids get a great public education in Kansas but we have to be honest about the fact that many students are being left behind.  More money isn't the answer.  Total aid to schools went from $2.6 billion in 1994 to $5.6 billion this year, and still barely half of 11th grade students fully understand grade-level material.  We should view this as an opportunity to look at what works around the country and provide an even more effective education to students not simply pat ourselves on the back.  The best news is that kids can be engaged to learn, teachers can focus on their students, and parents can know their children will be challenged to succeed."