In the next few weeks, Kansans will receive a lot of information about the state of K-12 education, including a clearer picture of the damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. It is important for school leaders to provide the public with an honest assessment of the data and their plans toward improvement.
Here are the major expected reports coming out soon:
Kansas results on the ACT test, typically taken by about 85 percent of students as juniors or seniors, and the SAT test, usually taken by about five percent of Kansas students planning on out-of-state colleges, should be released in October.
These tests allow some comparison with other states, but there are significant differences in how many students take each test. In about half of states, the ACT is the majority; in the rest more students take the SAT. In some states, virtually all students choose or are required to take one of these tests; in others the percentage on either test is much lower. Generally, the higher percentage tested, the lower the score.
Later this fall, the National Assessment of Educational Progress, which tests a small sample of students in each state in reading and math at fourth and eighth grade, will release individual results for the first time since 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Also in October, the State Department of Education is expected to release Kansas state assessment results for public and private schools, which are given annually to almost all students in grades 3-8 and 10. These tests are only given in Kansas schools.
Students are placed in four performance levels based on test results. Levels Three and Four, and the higher portion of Level Two, indicate the student is on track to be college ready, similar to the ACT benchmarks. The State Board of Education’s goal is to get 75 percent of students at this level. When comparing results of state assessments to the NAEP, Kansas has one of the highest goals in the nation. Kansas Levels Three and Four are similar the NAEP test’s highest two levels level. No state has more than 47 percent of students at this level.
The graduation rate for 2022 will also be calculated later this fall. Students have until October to complete requirements and still be considered part of this year’s class. Data for other states usually lags about one year behind.
School district enrollment on the September 20 “count date” will be tabulated, which helps determine each school district’s budget.
Finally, the State Board of Education will receive an update on unfilled teacher positions in October, and district counts of all USD employees by type will be released.
There is some important context to all this data.
First, virtually all Kansas academic indicators, including state assessments, NAEP scores, ACT college readiness measures, graduation rates and adult educational attainment, were increasing throughout the 2000’s as school funding increased, largely due the Montoy school finance lawsuit and Legislative response (2006-2009). Many of those measures either declined, leveled or the rates of improvement slowed during the eight years (2009 to 2017) when school funding grew less than inflation and national and regional per pupil funding averages.
After another lawsuit, the Legislature adopted the Gannon school plan to restore funding to 2009 inflation-adjusted levels over six years. The plan was not fully implemented until this school year. Many legislators are expecting to see academic improvements based on that higher funding – which was the premise of the lawsuit.
Second, virtually every academic study nationally has found the COVID-19 pandemic had the most negative impact on student outcomes in at least a century, due to less in-person learning when schools were closed, less access to school-based services and greater student stress due to student and family health concerns, economic factors and other related issues. The pandemic worsened reports of greater student mental health and behavioral issues already underway that many educators say harm academic focus.
Those issues have led many districts to expand programs and staff dealing with social and emotional support. However, some say these programs detract, rather than support, academic learning, or should be up to parents to deal with.
Third, two years ago Kansas had the largest decline in public school enrollment in at least 30 years. Meanwhile, an existing shortage of teachers and other school staff became worse due to retirements, resignations and competition from other employers. Neither of these are unique to Kansas and virtually every industry is experiencing labor shortages. But it is also unclear why these trends are happening. Is it parental opposition to COVID restrictions and curriculum, concerns over health and safety, or wanting more educational flexibility? Are teachers worn out, feeling underpaid and undervalued as a profession, unsupported by administration, tired of criticism from conservative parents or frustrated with changes in policies and curriculum they disagree with? Or just changing employment patterns like millions of other Americans?
New data released this fall will help show whether these trends are continuing or reversing at both state and local level, but probably won’t answer all of the questions about why. But how we got here may be less important than where we are going. Some school leaders who have not been on the board or in their current position when these issues began, but they will make the decisions about what comes next. Here are some things to think about.
First, have an honest assessment of student outcomes. What does the data say about how well students are being prepared for postsecondary success? Are they satisfactory or improving? If not, what does that say about how well current curriculum, programs and practice are working? What will it take to improve? This approach – look at your outcomes, review and revise your process to improve those outcomes, execute that process, evaluate the impact on your outcomes – is the key to the state school district accreditation system.
Second, remember Kansas has a plan for long-term student success. The Kansans Can vision is based on kindergarten readiness, academic preparation for postsecondary success, student safety and health, civic engagement, personalized student plans and postsecondary success to meet economic needs.
Third, continually seek input from all those with an interest in that plan: teachers and staff, parents, students and community. This can be frustrating and time-consuming, especially when there is the feeling that nobody really cares – how many public meetings and hearings have you held when no one showed up? But failure to seek input and listen is one of the best ways to create an unhappy crowd in the future.
Fourth, continually communicate all of the above, in plain language, not budget forms and educational jargon. This, too, is hard. It takes more time. It may raise more questions. But “lack of communication” is one of the most consistent criticisms of any organization.
KASB will provide in-depth reporting on all of the new data as it is released. Explaining what the data means on the local level is an important part of being a school leader.
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