• Kansas is #3 in state aid, #38 in ‘bang for the education buck’

    Kansas is #3 in state aid, #38 in ‘bang for the education buck’0

    With school spending and student achievement going in opposite directions, Kansas has one of the worst productivity rankings (bang for the education buck) in the nation. A dollar spent in Kansas buys a lot more than a dollar in New York or California, so we adjust spending for comparison to other states using the Missouri

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  • Kansas #11 in COL-adjusted spending per student for 2020

    Kansas #11 in COL-adjusted spending per student for 20200

    Education officials contend schools are underfunded, but Kansas had the 11th-highest spending per student in 2020, adjusted for the cost of living in each state.  Education officials also believe the states that spend the most have the best outcomes, yet achievement continues to decline in Kansas while spending shoots significantly higher.  So predictably, school officialsREAD MORE
  • Inflation-adjusted school funding +52%, teacher pay down 9%

    Inflation-adjusted school funding +52%, teacher pay down 9%0

    Allegations of low teacher pay is used to urge legislators for more funding, but money is not the problem or the answer.  (For the record, Kansas was #38 in 2019, but adjusted for the cost of living, Kansas was #15). Data from the National Center for Education Statistics, which come from local school districts, show

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  • KSDE deceives legislators about student achievement

    KSDE deceives legislators about student achievement0

    It’s pretty telling when student achievement is so low that the Kansas Department of Education will only talk about it in generalities. Testimony presented by Deputy Commissioner Bran Neuenswander said state assessment scores were on a decline between 2015 and 2018, began to “level off” in 2019, but then fell in 2021.  (The assessment wasn’t

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  • Kansas is #38 in bang for the educational buck

    Kansas is #38 in bang for the educational buck0

    Contrary to unsubstantiated claims by some education officials, Kansas has very low student achievement productivity, ranking #38 among the states.  Education lobbyists insist that Kansas has very high achievement and gets more bang-for-the-buck than any high-achieving state, but the facts from the National Assessment of Educational Progress and the U.S. Census show differently. A dollar

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  • School boards ignore income and racial educational discrimination

    School boards ignore income and racial educational discrimination0

    School boards across Kansas are gushing about their devotion to equality and their determination to stamp out racism, but until they stop ignoring their own systemic educational discrimination for low-income kids and students of color, their words are merely political posturing. How can Shawnee Mission school board members say they are maintaining an educational environmentREAD MORE