Education

State board chairman needs refresher course in education funding, board responsibilities 0
- Education
- October 25, 2021
At the October state board of education meeting, the board invited six members of the Legislature – the chairs and ranking members of the House and Senate education committees and the House K-12 budget committee – to discuss education issues in which both bodies have both concerns and responsibilities. The joint meeting was held on
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Blue Valley high schools top Niche state rankings 0
- Education, Education Research
- October 15, 2021
The five Blue Valley high schools (USD 229) topped the latest public high school rankings from Niche. Blue Valley North earned the top spot, followed by Blue Valley High, Blue Valley West, Blue Valley Northwest and Blue Valley Southwest. On the private schools side, Wichita Collegiate is ranked number one followed by Bishop Seabury Academy
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Kansans Can – hardly an “ambitious overhaul of Kansas schools”0
- Education
- September 29, 2021
The Kansas City Star published an article entitled “High grad rates, flat test scores: Is an ambitious overhaul of Kansas schools working?” In the piece the authors claim that KSDE’s signature initiative, Kansans Can– now five years into implementation – is “transforming education across the state.” Is Kansans Can really “transforming” Kansas schools? No. The
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KSDE’s Kansans Can awards are mostly participation ribbons 0
- Education
- September 14, 2021
For the past several decades, schools have been (accurately) accused and rightfully chastised for practicing an “everybody wins!” approach to any kind of competition and academic achievement. At the very least, all “competitors” receive participation ribbons, as an indicator that, indeed, everybody wins. The 2020 Kansans Can awards, announced at the August state board meeting
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KSDE ‘success’ tour ignores districts’ academic failures 0
- Education
- September 7, 2021
“The art of a magician is not found in the simple deception, but in what surrounds it, the construction of a reality which supports the illusion.” This quote from Jim Steinmeyer, a designer of magical illusions, nicely describes the Kansas Department of Education’s so-called ‘success’ tour. I attended the Olathe session last week, which
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Kansas Title I program has not improved low-income student achievement 0
- Education
- August 22, 2021
The Biden administration proposes to spend billions more on the federal Title I instructional program, but given the program’s history, the massive increase will likely not improve achievement of the low-income students – including those here in Kansas – Title I was designed to help. This article will show that Title I, despite providing annually
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