How have educational results changed following changes in students, staffing, and funding?  

In two previous posts, I’ve been sharing a recent conversation with a long-time friend who often brings me questions about public education. First, we discussed what has happened to public school enrollment over the past 30 years and how that compares to the number of teachers and other staff. Next, we discussed how school funding has compared to inflation and other measures and how school districts have used funding. Here, we finish this discussion – for now.  

“OK,” said my friend. “You explained school districts have added a lot of people and why. You’ve agreed that school funding is up in the long run. My question is whether any of this is doing any good. What is happening to the results? Are students actually better educated as a result of all this?”  

How do we measure educational results and student success?  

“To answer that, we need to decide a couple of things,” I said. “What results are we talking about? Have the goals or expectations changed over time? Finally, what is the time period we are using?  

“Test scores get the most attention,” I continued.” Still, the Kansas Supreme Court adopted a set of educational skills or capacities for students to learn called the ‘Rose’ standards, and the Legislature adopted those standards as educational goals. Basically, they say students need to be able to communicate, participate in democracy, understand their culture, be physically and mentally healthy, and be prepared for employment and postsecondary education. The State Board of Education has adopted goals for accreditation and accountability, including test scores and graduation and postsecondary education based on economic needs.  

“Some of those results, like test scores, are short-term and immediate, like state tests we give yearly. Some are more cumulative, like graduation rates and college attendance. Some are very long-term, like adult educational attainment.  

“I noted earlier that long-term per funding has been higher than inflation but dropped from 2010 until 2018. Long-term adult educational attainment in Kansas is at an all-time high. But before funding fell behind inflation, state assessments, national reading and math tests and ACT results were all rising, along with graduation rates and adult attainment. In the middle of funding cuts, test scores began to decline. Two years after funding began to increase under the Legislature’s six-year plan to bring funding back to an inflation-adjusted 2009 level, COVID struck, disrupting education at all levels. The decline in test scores started with funding falling behind inflation. And while test scores have fallen over the last ten years, other measures have improved.”  

Fact Check: While state and national test scores have been dropping in Kansas since 2015, other measures that align with state goals have been increasing. The drop-out rate has fallen, high school graduation rates are at an all-time high, and record numbers of students are earning technical certificates and college degrees. This means while some “results” are falling, others are improving, and these are happening with more low-income and disabled students.  

I explained that Kansas has also increased expectations. “A common criticism is that more students score at the failing level on state assessments than at the proficient level,” I noted. “But, the State Board of Education doesn’t use terms failing, proficient or grade level. You may hear that only about a third of students score at the top two levels on state reading and math tests, and the State Board has set a goal of getting 75 percent of students to those two Levels, which the Board calls Effective and Excellent. But that’s effective based on skills needed for college success. That’s a far higher expectation than when you and I were in school when less than 10 percent of Kansans completed college.” I reminded my friend.  

“Look at it this way,” I said. “About one-third of students score at Level 3 and 4 on state tests, compared to about one-third of Kansas adults having a four-year college degree or higher. About one-third score at Level 2, called Basic, compared to about one-third of Kansas who have some college, including technical training or certification, or a two-year degree. About one-third score at Level 1, called Limited, compared to one-third of adults with a high school diploma only or less. Our current scores reflect current adult educational levels, the highest ever in Kansas. The challenge is that we know today’s students will need more than in the past.”  

Fact Check: According to the U.S. Census, just 28.5 percent of Kansans completed 12 years of high school in 1940, and 2.3 percent had a four-year college degree. By 1990, high school completion was 81.3 percent and four-year degrees 11.6 percent; the Census first reported the percentage of any college: 48.4 percent. Most recently, Kansas high school completion reached 91.8 percent, any college 66.8 percent, and four-year degrees or higher 34.5 percent. Researchers believe 70-75 percent of future jobs will require a credential beyond high school, with about half requiring a four-year degree or more and half a two-year degree, technical certificates, or industry-recognized credentials.  

How do public school results compare to private schools and college results?  

“We can compare that to private schools,” I said. “Last year, the state’s five private school systems had an average of 51.2 percent of students at Level 3 or 4. This means that private schools, with far fewer high-need students than most public schools and the ability to set academic standards to enroll or continue to attend, have barely half of their students at what some call “proficient.” Public schools with the most similar student make, each of which had considerably more students with disabilities and must accept all students, had 46.4 percent at that level.   

“Remember, private schools get to set admission criteria for students and can select the students most likely to succeed academically. They can also remove students who are struggling for any reason, in which case those students’ academic performance would no longer be reflected in the private school’s results. It’s not a surprise that private schools have somewhat fewer low-performing students when they can exclude them. Public schools have to accept those students.  

“And private school results have also been dropping. Since 2017, the average percentage of students at Levels 3 and 4 for private school systems dropped 5.4 percent, more than similar public districts, which fell 4 percent.  

“To me, that indicates the decline in test scores isn’t a matter of poor public schools,” I said. “It means that all schools are facing the challenges of more students with greater needs, and all schools are working harder to overcome those challenges and help students graduate and go on to postsecondary success – even if we have a long way to go.”  

I noted that the State Department of Education’s research shows that students with higher scores are more likely to graduate and succeed in college than those with lower scores, but many exceptions exist.  

“Most educators say test scores are just one indicator of a student’s progress,” I said. “It may show a student lacks academic skills in the area tested but could also mean the student had a bad day, is distracted by something else, or isn’t motivated for the test. Likewise, a higher test score indicates the student has the skills for college-level work, but they also need focus, motivation, and self-management to apply themselves. That’s why about 20 percent of students scoring in the lowest level still demonstrate postsecondary success within two years of graduating, and about 20 percent of students at the highest levels DON’T have that success.”  

“That’s why Kansas schools are working to provide more support to students who demonstrate low performance on state tests – and other measures – and to help all students develop those non-academic skills needed to succeed,” I said. “The fact is that more students ARE going on to success postsecondary success than ever before.”  

My friend was skeptical. “How do we know we aren’t just lowering standards? Are more students needing remedial courses in college? Are more students succeeding after they graduate?”  

“State Board of Regents data says the number of students taking remedial, or what they call developmental, courses have been declining,” I said. “Some of that is because the Regents encourage students to enroll in regular courses that provide extra help rather than traditional remedial courses. But until COVID hit, the Regents institutional was awarding more certificates and degrees than ever, and the biggest growth is among students still in high school or the traditional college-aged years of age 19-24. It’s hard for me to see how you can have lower standards in high school and still have more students succeeding in college.”  

Fact Check: Since 2009, the number of Kansas high school graduates reported by the Kansas State Département of Education increased from 31,990 to 35,487 (10.9 percent); the number of credentials awarded by Kansas postsecondary institutions under the Board of Regents to students aged 18 or under to age 24 increased from 20,082 to 26,994 (34.4 percent) and within that group, credentials awarded to those 18 and under to age 19 increased from 2,494 to 5,690 (128.1 percent).  

“How do we know colleges aren’t also lowing standards?” my friend asked. “That’s possible,” I conceded. “But we also know that employers continue to demand higher educational credentials and pay higher wages for them. Most of the complaints we hear from employers are not about graduates lacking basic academic skills, but with the graduates lack ‘non-academic’ skills like dependability, teamwork, problem-solving, and adaptability – skills that certainly aren’t measured on standardized tests.”  

“Don’t get me wrong,” I said. “I think we need to be worried about state test scores because they are one indicator of academic readiness. If they begin to drop, it’s a warning that progress on preparing students for higher skills, higher paying jobs could stop. There are big gaps among student groups. Low-income and students with disabilities continue to lag, which is reflected in graduation rates and college attendance and continues to impact average wages and lifetime earnings. Progress in postsecondary attainment fell after COVID and has yet to recover.”  

“But these issues aren’t unique to public education, and they certainly aren’t caused by the school system. To me, the public education system is challenged, not failing,” I said. “Public schools face the same issues as private schools and, frankly, most other systems in our society. School leaders are going to have to try a lot of different ideas. But if we can agree on the goals and commit to each child's success, I’d argue we can make progress – because that is what Kansas public schools have done for as long as we’ve been measuring it. Remember, we are working to improve on a foundation of the highest educational attainment in history.”  

My friend nodded. The conversation will continue.