Student achievement is measured annually by the Kansas Department of Education (KSDE) and periodically by the U.S. Department of Education.  State assessments tests are taken by students in grades 3 through 8 and the 11th grade in each district and reported at the Kansas Dept. of Education State Report Card.  National testing designed by the U.S. Department of Education is given to students randomly selected from districts in grades 4, 8 and 12 and reported as The National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) scores on The Nation's Report Card.  The state scores are available at the state and district level but NAEP scores are only available at the State level.  The results listed on KansasOpenGov are for Reading and Math; both tests include additional subjects and demographic breakdowns.  State scores and NAEP scores cannot be directly compared because they have different standards, methodologies and test questions.  NAEP has higher standards than KSDE, as shown by their definitions of Proficient for Reading and Math:

NAEP Reading and Math: solid academic performance for each grade assessed. Students reaching this level have demonstrated competency over challenging subject matter, including subject-matter knowledge, application of such knowledge to real-world situations, and analytical skills appropriate to the subject matter.

KSDE Reading:  When independently reading grade-appropriate narrative, expository, technical and persuasive text, a proficient student has satisfactory comprehension.  Kansas calls full comprehension 'Exceeds Standard'. 

KSDE Meets Standard (Math):  A student scoring at the meets standard level usually performs consistently and accurately when working on most grade-level mathematical tasks.  The student demonstrates sufficient content knowledge and application skills.

KSDE Exceeds Standard (Math):  A student scoring at the exceeds standard level usually performs accurately when working on all grade-level mathematical tasks.  The student demonstrates well-developed content knowledge and application skills.



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