Annual report also notes fewer teacher vacancies and statewide progress in literacy instruction
TOPEKA — During his annual report to the Kansas State Board of Education, Kansas Education Commissioner Dr. Randy Watson said preparing Kansas students for their postsecondary pursuits remains of utmost importance for putting students on a path for success after graduating from high school.
“The efforts to increase graduation rates while simultaneously preparing students academically and with hands-on skills will continue to increase students’ chances for postsecondary success and strengthen the state’s workforce,” Watson said.
Watson presented a draft of “Coherence,” the Kansas State Department of Education’s (KSDE) 2024-25 annual report on Tuesday to members of the Kansas State Board of Education during their monthly meeting in Topeka. He said the number of Kansas high school students enrolled in postsecondary courses has continued to grow since 2021, noting that 40,709 students took postsecondary courses during the 2024-25 school year. During the same school year, Kansas students earned a total of 366,007 dual credit postsecondary hours, an increase of 33,392 over the previous year. Data for the 2024-25 Advanced Placement (AP) exams are not yet available; however, results from the past three years show a steady and significant increase in the number of exams earning scores of 3, 4, or 5. In 2023-2024, this number increased to 12,240, an increase of nearly 3,000 from the previous year. Based on this upward trend, Kansas fully expects continued growth in AP achievement when the 2025 results are released.
The number of students taking career and technical education (CTE) classes in high school also continues to climb each year.
The Kansas State Board of Education’s strong commitment to improving literacy outcomes continues to drive progress across the state. Thanks to the State Board’s dedicated funding, more than 17,072 educators and administrators have completed or are currently enrolled in LETRS® structured literacy training aligned to the science of reading. This growing participation reflects Kansas’ ongoing effort to ensure every student receives high-quality reading instruction.
Kansas introduced an enhanced state assessment in 2025, and as is standard practice, cut scores were developed accordingly. Kansas educators coming together to set cut scores also afforded an opportunity to address what multiple measures have shown to be a long-standing misalignment between assessment scores and actual student performance. KSDE believes the new cut scores more accurately represent student performance.
The 2024-25 annual report celebrates a major milestone in strengthening Kansas’ educator workforce. Teacher vacancies have dropped by more than 450 statewide, a 21% decrease from spring 2024 to fall 2025. This marks one of the most significant improvements in recent years and reflects ongoing efforts to recruit and retain talented educators across the state. The number of Registered Teacher Apprenticeship Program (RTAP) cohort members has also significantly increased each year since 2023, further addressing the teacher pipeline issues experienced in Kansas and across the U.S.
Click here for a draft of the 2024-25 annual report which will be updated as additional 2025 data points become available.
