On Tuesday, Kansas Education Commissioner Randy Watson provided data, including improved state assessment results, showing Kansas public schools are progressing on numerous fronts. 

"We’re going in the right direction, but we have to double down," Watson said during his annual report to the State Board of Education. 

State assessment scores for 2023 have rebounded from the effects of COVID-19 disruptions. High schools are graduating students at a record rate and Kansas students are taking a record number of career and technical education classes and postsecondary courses. In addition, the percentage of students needing remedial courses has decreased. 

“These improvements translate into increased earnings for young Kansans,” Watson said. 

Kansas state assessments are among the toughest in the nation. Level 1 shows limited ability to understand and use skills and knowledge for postsecondary success; Level 2, basic ability; Level 3, effective ability and Level 4, excellent ability. The assessments are given to students in grades 3-8 and 10. 

In English, the percentage of students in Level 1 either decreased or remained the same, while those in Levels 3 and 4 increased in six out of the seven grades. In math, no grade level increased in Level 1 and all grade levels increased in Levels 3 and 4. 

On other measures, the high school graduation rate has increased from 86.1 percent in 2016 to 89.3 percent in 2022. Graduation rates for English Language Learners and low-income and special education students have also increased and are at record levels.  

Nearly 36,000 high school students are taking postsecondary classes while in high school, up from 30,000 in 2017. 

The percentage of high school seniors completing or enrolled in postsecondary programs two years after high school has increased seven percentage points since 2015. 

Watson tempered the positive results, saying schools need to continue working on reducing chronic absenteeism, which nearly doubled after the pandemic.