Student achievement in Kansas has not improved significantly in the past 5 years, despite a 26% increase in total aid per pupil.

In April 2010, the U.S. Department of Education’s review of Kansas school performance found that, “there is no evidence that the state’s school funding formula (for which the Kansas courts mandated huge additional spending)...was related to, or resulted in increasing student achievement or graduation rates, narrowed achievement gaps or resulted in other important outcomes.”

The U.S. Department of Education ranked Kansas 29th out of 41 states that initially competed for $4.35 billion in federal grants through the “Race to the Top” program.. Despite knowing that these grants would ease the burden on Kansas taxpayers, the Kansas State Board of Education voted 9-0 to drop out of the “Race to the Top” program, choosing instead to pressure Kansas legislators to increase taxes and spend more of the state budget on K-12 education.

Concerns about achievement and college readiness

The U.S. Dept. of Education’s National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), which conducts independent assessments by state, found Kansas scores have improved little from 2005-2009.

Kansas’ average SAT scores have dropped, and ACT scores improved only slightly, while neighboring Missouri, Nebraska and Iowa outpaced Kansas by two or three times.*

The NAEP report revealed how few Kansas students graduate from high school ready for college. Only 26% of Kansas students that take the ACT test are ready for college coursework in all four areas that ACT considers.

* Based on U.S. Dept. of Education and College Board SAT data