NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — As the Kansas Legislature gavels back in for their veto session Monday, it's important to note that test scores for students have not gotten better in recent years.
"Are assessments rising or falling?" asked the KASB's Mark Tallman. "Since we've started this system in 2015, there has been a decline. The debate is over what has been the reason for that. There was a bigger decline in last year's scores from two years before, which most people ascribe to the COVID pandemic."
It's important to note that getting a college ready score on the state's standardized tests is more difficult in Kansas than other states.
"Our tests, relatively speaking, are very hard to hit the accepted standard," Tallman said. "If you want to think of it, to pass, or to get kind of a good grade, they are tough tests compared to others."
The question is, do those level 2 kids that don't test to college ready still succeed in life?
"Regardless of test scores, our overall educational attainment, in other words, how many kids graduate high school, how many kids go on to college or other post-secondary, you know, trade schools," Tallman said. "Counting all of that, we have never had as many people in Kansas with education levels that we have now."
According to recently released American Community Survey figures from the 2020 census, Kansas best performance for 18-24-year-olds is in the percentage with any postsecondary education, from a few college courses to a graduate degree. That percentage increased from census to census from 56.5 to 58.8 percent, ranking 10th in the nation.