Members of the Kansas State Board of Education received the 2023-24 annual report prepared by the Kansas State Department of Education during the board’s October meeting this week in Topeka. 

Kansas Education Commissioner Randy Watson presented the report to board members, which includes the results of the 2024 state assessments in reading and math.  

Kansas students in third through eighth grades and 10th grade participate in the state tests each spring. Watson told board members this year’s results showed incremental progress is being made to move students out of the lowest level of reading. While the scores are trending in the right direction, Watson emphasized that it is not enough. He expects these results will continue to improve as more teachers transition to structured literacy practices.  

• The 2024 ELA assessment results show that 33.6% of all students assessed scored at Levels 3 and 4, an increase from 33.2% in 2023 and 32.1% in 2022.  
• The 2024 ELA results show a decrease in the number of students scoring at Level 1 to 32.8%. That is down from 32.9% in 2023 and 33.9% in 2022.   
• The 2024 math assessment results show 31.6% of all students scored at Levels 3 and 4, an increase from 31.3% in 2023 and 29.4% in 2022.   
• The 2024 math assessment results also show 33.2% of students scored at Level 1, a slight increase from 33.1% in 2023 but down from 34.2% in 2022.  

Other aspects of the annual report Watson presented to the board included the following: 

• Chronic absenteeism rates continued to decline from their COVID-19 levels for a third year in a row, down to 19.8% in 2024.  
• The 2023 graduation rate declined by 1.2 percentage points to 88.1% from 2022, including a 1.3 percentage point decrease for students with disabilities. However, the graduation rate for English language learners (ELL) increased by one percentage point. (Graduation rates for 2024 will not be available until later this year since students have the opportunity until October to fulfill their high school graduation requirements.) 
• The number of Kansas high school students participating in postsecondary courses has increased every year since 2021. The number of credits high school students have earned in concurrently enrolled, dual enrolled and those enrolled in the Excel in CTE courses in 2024 has also continued to increase for the past four years. The number of students taking the Advanced Placement tests is also up, Watson said. 
• The postsecondary effectiveness rate has “stalled out,” Watson said, after increasing for the past six years. The 2024 rate was 49.5%, down slightly from 51% in 2023. 
• The number of Kansas educators who have completed LETRS® training since ESSER funds began paying for the science of reading program is 3,242. Another 12,141 educators are in the process of getting trained. 

Click here for more about the 2023-24 Annual Report, “Momentum.” 

Board members also received the Fall Vacancy Report (FVR) during their meeting this week.  

Shane Carter, KSDE director of teacher licensure, reported special education continues to have the highest number of teacher vacancies in the state with 480, up 82 from 398 this past spring. Elementary teachers had the second highest number of vacancies, followed by math, English language arts and then science. There was a total of 1,954 vacancies in the FVR across all categories compared to 1,810 this past spring, an increase of 144. 

In other business, board members unanimously approved recommendations from the Professional Standards Board for the literacy licensure requirement tests and passing scores required for identified groups of Kansas educators. 

Veteran educators will need to take the following tests with the corresponding passing scores by July 2028 if they do not take the board-approved structured literacy training: 

• ETS’ Elementary Educators Teaching Reading sub-test (7002); passing score = 143. 
• Pearson’s Foundations of Reading (190); passing score = 240. 
• Knowledge and Practice Examination for Effective Reading Instruction; passing score = 500. 

Other business brought before the board included: 

• Honoring Dorothy Dorman, driver for First Student bus company that serves Wichita USD 259, who was the first-place winner of the minibus division of the 2024 School Bus Driver International Safety Competition in Austin, Texas in June; 
• Hearing from three Kansas elementary school principals about what makes their schools 2024 National Blue Ribbon schools;  
• Receiving a presentation from food service directors at Prairie View USD 362 and Morris County USD 417 about how they have incorporated local agricultural products into their school meal programs; 
• Hearing from Nancy Zenger-Beneda, executive director of the Kansas Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom (KFAC), about the foundation’s current initiatives aimed at educating Kansas students about the importance of agriculture; 
• Receiving a presentation from Amanda Petersen, KSDE director of early childhood, on how the Ages & Stages Questionnaire® (ASQ) assesses developmental milestones for kindergarteners and helps families transition their child into school; 
• Hearing from Mark Tallman, of the Kansas Association of School Boards, on how high performing school districts exceed expectations on state board outcomes; 
• Receiving a presentation from Alan Conroy, executive director of the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System (KPERS), about the state retirement system as it applies to educators; 
• Enjoying a performance from a vocal ensemble from Eisenhower Middle School, Topeka USD 501; 
• Receiving recommendations from the Evaluation Review Committee (ERC) for higher education accreditation and program review and the Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAC) quarterly report; and 
• Approving recommended revisions to the State Board’s policies, reviewing committee assignments and approving the October meeting’s consent agenda.