Kansas Education: Public Policy in Kansas and Beyond

Report nicks Kansas for lack of AP opportunities

John R. LaPlante — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 20:11:28 +0000

If you’re a child in a poor family, where would you rather live–Kansas or Florida?

Historically, Kansas has had a good reputation for its education system, and Florida hasn’t. But the Sunshine State has caught up to and has surpassed Kansas in some measures.

Here’s what the online newspaper ProPublica had to say:

“Our analysis identifies several states that, like Florida, have leveled the field and now offer rich and poor students roughly equal access to high-level courses.

In Kansas, Maryland and Oklahoma, by contrast, such opportunities are far less available in districts with poorer families.”

The article focuses on student access to and enrollment in AP classes. Of all the states, Kansas gets an especially negative treatment. Officials at KSDE suggest in response that some children are simply not interested in a liberal-arts education–a fair point as far as it goes.

The article quotes Alan Rupe (of Montoy lawsuit fame), who calls for even more funding for schools that enroll a large number of poor students. I propose something different: How about letting those students take their public support to the school of their choice?

The article contains one clunker, claiming that Florida scores below the national average on standardized tests. It points to grade 12 tests. But it scores above the national average on fourth-grade math and reading and eighth-grade reading. I’m not sure, though, whether those differences are statistically significant–but it’s clear that Florida is not “below” the national average anymore.

School choice on the move, though not in Kansas

John R. LaPlante — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 19:52:17 +0000

School choice is on the move, according to the American Federation of Children. The pro-school choice group cites developments in 11 states during the first six months of this year. The states are: Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Utah, and Wisconsin. (Where’s Kansas?) The actions included:

- Removing caps on the number of charter schools

- Creation of education savings accounts

- Creation of new voucher programs

- Expansion of existing voucher programs

- Expansion of tax-credit programs for education

Students benefit from Voucher Programs

John R. LaPlante — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 19:14:21 +0000

Writing for the Foundation for Education Choice, Jeff Reed explains the benefits of school choice in a letter to the Johnson County Sun.

“Nine of the 10 “gold standard” studies examining voucher programs concluded that some or all participants benefited academically. One found no difference. As for public schools, 18 of 19 empirical studies showed vouchers impacted them positively, with one reporting no effect. No empirical analysis has discovered negative effects from vouchers.”

All that is good for an advocate of school choice. On the other hand, school choice has a moral dimension, too: It lets the poor have the options that people of means currently have. It also promotes the tailoring of an education to the learning style and personality of each student. Though if I were philosopher-king, I would establish some sort of tax-credit mechanism rather than vouchers.

A contrary view on the Common Core Standards Initiative

John R. LaPlante — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 17:06:41 +0000

One education reform that most people haven’t heard of is the Common Core Standards Initiative. It’s the latest attempt to improve the educational performance of the nation’s students by establishing legal/administrative expectations of what students learn. In brief, it’s a set of school standards that are coordinated through the National Governors Association, and adopted on a state-by-state basis. Critics argue that this will result in back-door nationalization of what has traditionally been a state-level question.

School Reform News has a short article about the controversy, quoting both sides. Opponents have created a counter-manifesto, titled “Closing the Doors on Innovation.” I’m one of the signatories. You can add your name, too.

Two New Resources

John R. LaPlante — Wed, 25 May 2011 18:24:26 +0000

If you’re interested in education in Kansas, here are some websites you should check out:

Kansas Open Gov takes information from the Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) and transforms it into an easy to understand, sortable format. You can look at district revenues and spending per pupil, as well as district checkbooks, cash balances, and other financial information. You can also compare one district to another.

Kansas Open Gov also has achievement data, for both the state (NAEP) and districts (state assessments).

Why Not Kansas is all about school choice–tax credits, charter schools, vouchers, what have you. It has news on the latest developments in school choice programs and laws across the nation, as well as the basics about various forms of school choice.