TOPEKA - Education Commissioner Dr. Randy Watson has announced Kansas literacy rates continue to improve with fewer students scoring in Level 1 on the spring 2024 reading state assessments, marking a second straight year that number has decreased.

"This is good news as one of the state board of education's goals is to move more Kansas students out of the lowest level of reading," Watson said. "While the decrease in Level 1 reading results is slight, this is the second year in a row that measure has improved, which tells us we're on the right track. We expect these results will continue to improve as more teachers transition to structured literacy."

The Kansas State Board of Education invested $15 million in early literacy three years ago and committed an additional $10 million in 2024 to fund structured literacy training for Kansas teachers. Additionally, the board earlier this year approved a new licensure requirement for identified groups of educators requiring training in structured literacy or passing an exam measuring knowledge of structured literacy, beginning in 2028.

Structured literacy uses evidence-based science of reading principles that can be taught to all students, including those with dyslexia.

Watson's announcement of the spring 2024 reading and math state assessment results coincided with his presentation of the Kansas State Department of Education's 2023-24 annual report during this week's Kansas State Board of Education's monthly meeting. The Kansas assessment student performances are scored using four levels:

• A student at Level 1 shows a limited ability to understand and use the skills and knowledge needed for postsecondary readiness.
• A student at Level 2 shows a basic ability to understand and use the skills and knowledge needed for postsecondary readiness.
• A student at Level 3 shows an effective ability to understand and use the skills and knowledge needed for postsecondary readiness.
• A student at Level 4 shows an excellent ability to understand and use the skills and knowledge needed for postsecondary readiness.

Students in the third through eighth grades and 10^th grade take the reading and math state assessments annually each spring.

• 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's 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.

The State Board's goal to move more students out of Level 1 in reading, along with the initiative to increase the number of Kansas educators trained in Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling, or LETRS^®, is gaining momentum.

As of Oct. 2024, an estimated 3,242 educators (including early childhood and administrators) had completed LETRS^® training and have post-test scores. Another 12,141 educators (including early childhood and administrators) are in the process of getting trained in LETRS^®. The LETRS^® training is free for all Kansas educators as a result of federal ESSER funds.

Chronic absenteeism rates saw a three-year decline, going from 24.5% in 2022; 21.8% in 2023; and 19.7% in 2024. Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing 10% or more of the total number of days enrolled during the school year. It includes both excused, unexcused, out-of-school suspensions and in-school suspensions that last more than one-half of the school day.

As a lag indicator, the 2023 graduation rate declined by 1.2 percentage points to 88.1%, including a 1.3 percentage point decrease for students with disabilities. However, the graduation rate for English language learners (ELL) increased by 1 percentage point. (Graduation rates for 2024 won't be available until later this year.)

While the graduation rate decreased slightly, the number of Kansas high school students participating in postsecondary courses has increased every year since 2021. The number of students concurrently enrolled, dual enrolled and those enrolled in the Excel in CTE courses at the college level in 2024 was 38,002, up from 35,785 in 2023; 33,519 in 2022; and 32,603 in 2021. The number of credit hours these students earned also increased over the same four-year period - 332,615 in 2024; 306,904 in 2023; 289,456 in 2022 and 285,402 in 2021.

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