Successes in Teaching

Rigorous Standards in place to become Teacher/Administrator

• Candidates must demonstrate content knowledge as well as an ability to teach to obtain a teaching license.

Existing workforce is highly qualified

• Ninety-four percent of teachers are fully qualified for current teaching assignments.
• More than 14, 000 Kansas teachers hold advanced degrees

Performance Based Accreditation

• School accreditation based on measurable student performance on state and local assessments

Demanding Continuing Education Requirements

• Teaching skills are kept current through quality professional development in the areas of content, teaching skill and service to the profession.
• A plan for results-based staff development is required for every school
• Professional development plans are based on improving student achievement

Just ask - Teaching and learning data is available

• Public dissemination of school performance data through building report cards through the media, on web sites via districts and KSDE.

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Successes in Learning

National Data

• ACT - Of the five states with the highest percentage of students tested, Kansas has the highest composite score.
• SAT - Kansas students who take the SAT score significantly higher than the national average.
• Kansas is one of the top four states in the nation for having the highest combined SAT and ACT college entrance exam scores.
• Academic Achievement Rankings - Kansas ranks 8th nationally for academic achievement (American Legislative Exchange Council Report Card on American Education 1977-1999)

State Data

• Kansas State Assessments - A five-year comparison of performance on the state math assessments shows a constant rise in scores from 1995-1999 at grades 4, 7 and 10.
• A four-year comparison of performance on the state reading assessment shows a rise in the reading scores from 1996-1999 at grades 3, 7 and 10.
• Graduation Rate - The 2000 Kansas graduation rate is up from 1999, while the dropout rate for 2000 was 2.2% showing a steady decrease for four years.

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Challenges

Losing Qualified Staff

• Increased numbers of new and experienced teachers are recruited to the private sector.
• Increased numbers of teachers are being assigned to teach outside their field of expertise
• Kansas has many positions that are hard to fill because of geography and/or economy.
• Increasing difficulty occurs filling positions with licensed teachers in specific subject areas.

Technology

• Digital Divide - access to technology must be available to all students and teachers
• Training on how to use technology as a teaching and learning tool is essential.

Commitment to Professional Development

• Kansas must maintain a high quality teaching force.
• Mentoring and professional development are needed to attract and retain new professionals.
• Ongoing, job-embedded professional development is necessary to retain experiences professionals.
• Student achievement is positively impacted by quality professional development for teachers.

Making public schools a community priority

• Community members must become advocates for public schools.
• The importance of a quality education for every Kansas student must be emphasized.