Tag: student achievement
K-12 enrollment still down, but funding keeps rising
Full-time equivalent enrollment is still about 10,000 students lower than pre-pandemic levels, but state and local funding is $840 million…
K-12 opposition to computer science underscores need for choice
The lineup of people testifying for and against a proposal to make completion of a computer science course a graduation…
Wyandotte legislators silent on minority education gaps
White students are more than twice as likely to be on track as Black students in Wyandotte County according to…
Chamber business leader survey shows taxes are too high in KS
The Tax Foundation last year said Kansas has the highest effective tax rates in the nation on mature businesses, and…
USD 231 superintendent Pam Stranathan gets $425k gift from taxpayers
Student achievement steadily declined in Gardner-Edgerton under Superintendent Pam Stranathan. The district consciously misled legislators, Stranathan asked county commissioners to…
KSDE conceals low, declining student achievement
The Kansas Legislature’s Special Committee on Education held a hearing on student achievement this week, and the message from the…
Schools ignore legal requirement to conduct needs assessments
State law requires local school boards to conduct annual building needs assessments of each school as part of the budget…
KSDE de-emphasizes instruction in new accounting handbook
The new KSDE Accounting Handbook provides another stark reminder that academics and the importance of instruction are being de-emphasized in…
2021 ACT scores fall as schools de-emphasize academics
The average 2021 ACT scores in Kansas declined for the fifth consecutive year, to 19.9, and the decline in college…
Schools won’t talk about getting 135,000 students to grade level
There were about 135,000 students reading and writing below grade level in Kansas in 2019, with about 17,000 of them…
Olathe schools silent on whistleblower academic allegations
While the Olathe school district is pushing Critical Race Theory under the guise of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, a whistleblower…
Kansas tries to reduce standards to make achievement look better
The Kansas Department of Education dumbed down achievement standards about 20 years ago under No Child Left Behind, and now…
More student achievement deception in Gardner-Edgerton
Parents in the Gardner-Edgerton school district in Johnson County are being horribly misled about student achievement. The only question is…
Hypocritical hissy fits from SUBV, Game On over 1776 Project endorsements
They didn’t object when Democrats Laura Kelly, Sharice Davids, and Barbara Bollier got financial backing from out-of-state donors. But Stand…
Stand Up Blue Valley stands for mediocrity and bureaucracy
Stand Up Blue Valley likes to portray its leaders as “concerned parents” but their actions show they exist to support…
JoCo school boards request political ‘cover’ from commissioners
“Legal department had not made final review,” wrote Johnson County Commission Chair Ed Eilert , explaining why the school district…
KSDE denial of critical race theory is just another fairy tale
The rapidly growing backlash against critical race theory yesterday prompted the Kansas Department of Education (KSDE) to deny that CRT…
Wichita State prof: keep kids in underperforming schools
The folksy saying that goes ‘Don’t spit on my boots and try to tell me it’s raining’ means ‘don’t try…
More school funding deception from Stand Up Blue Valley
A recent Facebook post by Stand Up Blue Valley is another good example of advocacy groups placing a higher priority…
SMSD, board president Heather Ousley attempt to stifle speech
Shawnee Mission school board of education, led by President Heather Ousley, made several attempts to stifle speech at the May…
KC Star: government institutions matter, not students
The Missouri Legislature put student needs first in passing the state’s first school choice program, and parents are thrilled. People…
Kansas City Star education deceit throws kids under the bus
The Kansas City Star is notorious for false and misleading claims (see here, here, and here), but even for them,…
Is Barbara Bollier dishonest about school funding or misinformed?
A Sunflower State Journal report about former state senator Barbara Bollier chairing a new political action committee included a wildly…
Stand Up Blue Valley: fund systems, not students
The Kansas House of Representatives just approved legislation to give academically challenged students a chance for a better education, and…