Studies & Analysis

Removing Barriers to Better Public Education: Analyzing the facts about student achievement and sch

This analysis from KPI examines historical data for several measures of student achievement (e.g., ACT tests, NAEP, state exams, etc.) and spending on public education. It concludes that while spending has increased dramatically several different achievement metrics demonstrate that student achievement is relatively flat.

Expanding Educational Opportunities in Kansas through Online Learning

An examination of the history, future, and potential student achievement gains through online education.

Reinventing the Kansas K-12 School System

What steps can Kansas take right now to increase student achievement. KPI Education Policy Fellow, Dr. John Merrifield, examines where Kansas students are and where they could go.

Profile and Comparison of Kansas K-12 Employment Levels

This study investigates links between K-12 education spending and employment levels.

Kansas K-12 Spending and Achievement Comparison

This study explores whether student achievement is linked to increasing Kansas K-12 education spending.

Volume IV: What do we want from education?

Despite the unprecedented controversy, surprisingly little is understood about how much money schools actually receive, how that money is spent or even the basis upon which the court ruled in Montoy.

Volume III: Analysis of K-12 Spending in Kansas

Vol. II, identifies how court-mandated funding increases were spent by Kansas school districts and compares per-pupil spending across districts.

K-12 Expense Categories

Cost center definitions for K-12 schools (Appendix “A” of Volume III in A Kansas Primer on Education Funding)

2008-2009 Change in Spending by District and Cost Center

High-to-low spending range by district enrollment size (Appendix “B” of Volume III in A Kansas Primer on Education Funding).

2008-2009 Per-Pupil Spending by Distict

District spending in each cost center, grouped by enrollment size (Appendix “C” of Volume III in A Kansas Primer on Education Funding)

2005-2009 Change in Spending by District and Cost Center

Change in per-pupil spending for each cost center (Appendix “D” of Volume III in A Kansas Primer on Education Funding)

2008 Comparison of Reading Proficiency and Per-Pupil Spending

High and low per-pupil expenditures for various levels of proficiency(Appendix “E” of Volume III in A Kansas Primer on Education Funding)

2008 Comparison of Math Proficiency and Per-Pupil Spending

High and low per-pupil expenditures for various levels of proficiency (Appendix “F” of Volume III in A Kansas Primer on Education Funding)

District Listing of 2008 Per-Pupil Expenditures and Proficiency Score

Spending and proficiency comparison by district, including percentage enrollment of Special Education, At Risk and English Language Learners (Appendix “G” of Volume III in A Kansas Primer on Education Funding)

Volume II: Analysis of Montoy vs. State of Kansas

Volume II of A Kansas Primer on Education Funding provides a detailed examination of the legal and political forces at play during the Montoy litigation. It also identifies existing barriers that prevent or restrict efforts to reform the system and

Volume I: History of Education Finance

Volume I of A Kansas Primer on Education Funding traces school funding developments, starting at the inception of statehood in 1863 and leading up to the filing of the above-mentioned Montoy lawsuits.

K-12 Spending and Achievement in Kansas: 2008 Edition

This report is the latest review of Kansas' K-12 public schools enrollment, spending and achievement trends. It uses information from the Kansas State Department of Education, the U.S. Department of Eudcation, and the U.S. Census Bureau.