University Daily Kansan / Thursday, September 14, 1989
Math program approved
The Associated Press
TOPEKA - The state Board of Education unanimously approved yesterday a new mathematics assessment program it hopes will give Kansas students the skills they need to compete in today's business world.
Without good math skills, state Education Commissioner Lee Droegemuelter warned the board, Kansas is not going to have a labor force capable of competing and will suffer economically.
The board also approved a $100,000 contract to have the University of Kansas develop a math test the board expects to give to students in the third, seventh and 10th grades in the spring of 1991.
The goal of the test is to identify students who are deficient in math skills and to provide the basis for developing individualized improvement programs to help those who are deficient catch up with their peers.
The board plans to follow the math program with a new reading assessment program in 1992.
The board is using $100,000 of available federal money to have KU develop the math test and is asking the 1990 Legislature to appropriate $210,000 for giving the math test in the spring of 1991 and to develop the reading program for 1992.
Board members shied away from calling the test a mandate, but said they planned to strongly encourage local school districts to require follow-up improvement programs for students who didn't meet the new math and reading standards.
Board Chairman Connie Hubbell of Topeka said the Department of Education would work with teachers and administrators to develop the best possible program.
The 1989 Legislature declined to continue financing the minimum competency tests for Kansas students, killing a program begun in 1860 that tested students in five grades on their basic skills in math. But the tests required no remediation if students didn't measure up.
The state board is initiating the new program with a focus on remediation for students who need it.
Board Member Paul D. Adams of Osage City emphasized that this was not a minimum competency testing program, but a program to identify those with math deficiencies so they could be helped.
He said because the program was tied directly to student improvement and stressed improved math teacher would win back legislative support.
Also approved as the board concluded its September meeting were 38 educational excellence grants totaling $2.22 million to finance local district programs to assist students at risk of falling in school and dropping out, and to encourage change and innovation in education.
The 1989 Legislature appropriated the money, which will be matched by local contributions to double the investment. The board is asking the Legislature to appropriate $7 million for the same purpose next session.
The 38 school districts selected to receive the money were chosen from among 101 applications seeking $4.3 million.
Kansans score well on exams
The Associated Press
TOPEKA — Kansas students still are scoring better on average on college entrance examinations than students across the nation, the state Department of Education reported yesterday.
The average composite American College Testing score is 19.1 on a scale of 36 for Kansas high school students who graduated last spring and took the ACT during their junior or senior years, the department said. That compares to the national average of 18.6.
The average score was the same for Kansas students who graduated in 1988, when the national average was 18.8.
The department also said the average Scholastic Aptitude Test score also increased slightly, to 1,040 points out of 1,600. That compares to a national average of 903. Fifty-two percent of the state's high school seniors take the ACT, while only 10 percent take the SAT.
However, the department's report noted that there were slight decreases in Kansas scores in three subject area tests on the ACT.
The ACT tests skills in English, math, social studies and the natural sciences. Kansas students scored highest in science, with an average of 21.7. In English, they scored 18.6; math. 17.4; and social studies. 18.0.
thank you, and social studies, too.
Last year's seniors scored 18.8 in
English, 17.2 in math, 18.3 in social
studies and 21.8 in science.
On the SAT, seniors graduating this year compiled an average score of 495 on the verbal test, compared to the national average of 427. On the math test, the average score was 545, compared to the national average of 476.
Sponsored by Chinese Student Committee at KU.
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