Education Archives - Kansas Policy Institute

State assessment scores drop again despite infusion of court-ordered money 0
- Education
- December 6, 2018
Now that the 2018 state assessment scores have finally been released by KSDE, this statement by the Kansas Supreme Court can be, pardon the expression, put to the test. That is because K-12 spending in the 2017-18 school year increased by more than $400 million, a 6.7% increase, to $13,620 per pupil. Despite the spike
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Kansas educational system earns an F in parental access to impact educational opportunities 0
- Education
- November 18, 2018
The Center for Education Reform (CER) has just released the Parent Power! Index, which is a state-by-state analysis of the “degree of access parents have to impact educational opportunities.” (emphasis not added) The Index measures the ability of parents to “exercise choices…engage with their local school boards…and have a voice in the education systems that surround
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Per-Pupil funding tops $14,000 in Kansas 0
- Education
- November 9, 2018
The Kansas Department of Education says per-pupil funding will set another new record this year at $14,116, exceeding last year’s record of $13,620. Total funding is expected to be $6.75 billion this year. The information shown in the table below was provided by Deputy Commissioner Dale Dennis. Most of the increase comes from state funding
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ACT results for class of 2018: lower overall scores and curriculum-based achievement gaps 0
- Education
- November 5, 2018
ACT results for the 2018 graduating class show the slow but steady achievement descent continues for graduating Kansas seniors. The overall average composite score of 21.6 is down from 21.7 in 2017 – the third decline in the last four years. Not only is the overall composite score lower, but virtually all sub-indicators also declined.
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Schools misinterpret ‘efficiency’ in WestEd study 0
- Education
- November 1, 2018
The WestEd school funding cost study commissioned earlier this year by the Kansas legislature has been cited by some education officials as saying school efficiency is very high, meaning there is little room to reduce costs in the state’s 286 school districts. But that’s a misinterpretation. Dr. Lori Taylor, lead author of the study, graciously
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Tallman Report’s pretzel logic justifies high education spending 0
- Education
- October 25, 2018
The McMillan Dictionary defines pretzel logic as Faulty or circular reasoning that does not stand up to scrutiny That definition fits a recent Tallman Report to the proverbial T. After years and years of being in denial, Mr. Tallman finally concedes that education spending has, indeed, risen drastically in the past quarter-century. Why the sudden
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