Education

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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KC Star made false accusations about school funding 0
- Education
- October 26, 2018
A recent Kansas City Star editorial said, “when adjusted for inflation, spending per-pupil in 2018, at $8,771, is right about where it was in the 1990s.” No explanation was provided for that obviously false claim, but it was attributed to a school lobbyist. Data from the Kansas Department of Education (KSDE), however, says school funding
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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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Considering a constitutional amendment on school funding 0
- Education
- October 15, 2018
There’s no constitutional amendment on the November ballot but it’s one of the major issues facing whoever gets elected. Kansas Policy Institute does not support or oppose candidates for public office, but we do provide educational information to the public about key economic and education issues facing Kansans. Our 2018 Voter Issue Guide is intended
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Barely half of 2018 school spending went to instruction 0
- Education
- October 15, 2018
There’s universal agreement that nothing impacts learning more than the interaction between students and teachers, yet local school boards allocated just 53.9 percent of total spending to Instruction during the 2018 school year. The Kansas Department of Education (KSDE), defines Instruction as “direct interaction between students and teachers.” When the Kansas Supreme Court ordered an
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Hey, state board, where are the state assessment results?0
- Education
- October 4, 2018
Indeed, it is now October and the 2018 state assessment results – tests that were taken by students last spring – have yet to be released to the public. Since the information is there – students and families have long been given individual results and even teachers have them for upcoming parent-teacher conferences – why
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