Contact Representative Ron Estes before Friday and let him know you oppose a federal voucher program in the budget bill. Early this morning, the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee approved its lengthy section of the House budget reconciliation bill. Unfortunately, the 389-page measure still includes a $5 billion proposal for universal vouchers for private schools and homeschools, even in states like Kansas, which have rejected vouchers. The reconciliation bill will be heard by the House Budget Committee this Friday, May 16. Representative Estes is the only Kansan on the committee. Please contact his office before Friday to...
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New Hampshire Education Freedom Account Expansion Will Be Costly
Vouchers are a scam in New Hampshire (and everywhere else). But once they pass, and despite what is best for the state’s students, legislators keep expanding them. “In those states like Arizona, Ohio and North Carolina very few students left public schools to take a voucher, almost all of the new enrollees are students currently in religious and private schools or homeschooled as they are here in New Hampshire. “These are parents who did not qualify when there was a salary cap of 350 percent of the federal poverty level or $74,025 for a family of two and...
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Leave a Comment More from KSDE on cut scores
“Through an in-depth study comparing individual state assessment results with ACT scores, AP coursework, dual credit, graduation rates and postsecondary outcomes, educators found that previous performance levels did not accurately reflect student readiness. “Misalignment penalized students unfairly. Only about one in four Kansas high school students scored at Level 3 or 4 on state assessments, yet more than half went on to succeed in college or career pathways. Many students were told they were not ‘proficient’ when they were, in fact, thriving. “Kansas assessment cut scores were out of step nationally. In many cases, students had to score...
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Leave a Comment Kansas state education board expands scoring range for student assessments
“‘The Kansas assessment has persistently been an outlier for all of the three children in my own family and for thousands of students across the state, as data has shown,’ Deedy, a public education advocate, said at a Tuesday meeting of the Kansas State Board of Education… “Beryl New, a board member from Topeka, said she has heard from constituents who are concerned the state education department is lowering standards. Fultz responded that the change is more of a realignment of expectations for student performance. “’I do believe we are not reducing the rigor on this assessment,’ Fultz...
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Leave a Comment New Cut Scores Approved
The cut scores of the Kansas Assessment have been an issue since they were last set about a decade ago. Today the State Board of Education voted to approve new cut scores 7-3 (Hopkins, Zeck, Haas, New, Hershberger, Arnold, and Porter voting for the change, and Dombrosky, O’Brien and Potter voting against the change though Dombrosky sounded generally supportive). Game On Executive Director Judith Deedy sent an email to Board members and spoke at public comment this morning. Here is the content of her email: I am emailing today as a parent and a public education advocate. As...
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