Imagine if 70% of teenagers failed their driver’s test—but still received a license and were sent out onto the roads. How safe would you feel? How many accidents would happen? How many opportunities would those teens lose because they lacked the basic skills to drive safely and confidently?
Now, apply that same logic to reading. According to The Nation's Report Card (NAEP), 70% of Kansas students are failing to reach grade-level proficiency (1)—yet they continue to be pushed through the system without the essential skills needed to navigate life. NAEP Basic is not grade level and does not represent full mastery of fundamental literacy skills. Just like driving, reading is a critical skill that shapes a child's ability to function safely, confidently, and independently in the world. If we wouldn’t accept a 70% failure rate for young drivers, why are we allowing it in our classrooms?
Here’s what keeps me up at night: the equivalent of the entire populations of Salina, Manhattan, Hutchinson, Newton, Lawrence, Leavenworth, and Dodge City combined—340,000 students (2)—are not performing at grade level. And every year, roughly 58,000 students—enough to fill the entire city of Lenexa—don’t graduate(3).
This isn’t just a flat tire—the wheels have come off the entire educational system. Yet, the real problem isn’t just the numbers. Parents, teachers, and administrators still believe their students are the exceptions, failing to see that the entire system is broken. Until we acknowledge the full scale of this crisis, we will continue failing generations of Kansas children—trapping them in a cycle of illiteracy, poverty, and incarceration.
Every student in our nation is, on average, a half a year behind in reading, math, or both. Kansans, are lagging behind the national average. (4)
Walk into your local elementary school. Line up 25 kids.
Seventeen of them are struggling with grade-level reading tasks.
Only eight are on track for college or a trade school.
The stakes aren’t just academic—they’re a matter of life and death for too many students. Every percentage point of declining test scores represents thousands of children at risk. Individuals with low literacy skills are 200% more likely to be unemployed, 43% more likely to live in poverty(5), and significantly more likely to depend on welfare. Worse yet, 70% of incarcerated individuals cannot read above the fourth grade level—far below the minimum literacy skills needed to navigate daily life. (6)
This crisis doesn’t just impact lives—it places a staggering financial burden on the Kansas, costing an estimated $19.3 billion annually (7). If we fail to address the literacy crisis now, we’re not just letting students down—we're jeopardizing our future.
The Kansas Legislature is in session, and it’s time for policy makers to take real action to stop the literacy crisis in our schools.
We must demand:
✅ That educator preparation programs align with the Science of Reading, ensuring teachers are equipped to teach all 75 basic phonograms, covering 98% of the English language.
✅ Assessment and Parental Notification—ensuring parents know immediately when their child is behind and what interventions are available.
✅ Educational Empowerment for Families—Giving families real options to secure educational support when public schools fail to meet their child’s needs. Broadening the Kansas Education Enrichment Program (KEEPS), expanding ESAs for tutoring, and funding school vouchers to ensure every child gets the support they need to succeed.
Failing to teach children to read isn’t just negligence—it’s a lifelong sentence. It’s time to put the brakes on educational failure.
National Center for Education Statistics. (2024). The Nation’s Report Card: Kansas State Snapshot Report – Grade 4 Reading 2024 (NCES 2024220KS4). U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved from https://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/subject/publications/stt2024/pdf/2024220KS4.pdf.
Stats are based off the 487,978 students enrolled in 1,355 schools in Kansas. National Center for Education Statistics. (2024). State Education Dashboard: Kansas Enrollment Data. U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved from https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest-dashboard/state/kansas.\
Stat based on 88.1% of Graduates. Kansas State Department of Education. (2024). 2023-24 year in review. Retrieved from https://www.ksde.gov/Home/Quick-Links/News-Room/ArtMID/3386/ArticleID/3764/2023-24-Year-in-Review
The Sentinel. (2024, April 18). 2024 NAEP: Kansas Again Below National Average. Retrieved from https://sentinelksmo.org/2024-naep-kansas-again-below-national-average/.
The Policy Circle. (n.d.). The Literacy Crisis: Economic and Social Consequences. Retrieved from https://www.thepolicycircle.org/briefs/literacy/#:~:text=Of%20adults%20with%20low%20literacy,workers%20with%20higher%20literacy%20levels.
Governor’s Early Literacy Foundation. (n.d.). The Connection Between Early Literacy and Incarceration. Retrieved from https://governorsfoundation.org/gelf-articles/early-literacy-connection-to-incarceration/.
Kansas Legislature. (2024). Blueprint for Literacy Progress Report – Dr. Cynthia Lane Testimony, January 16, 2024. Retrieved from https://www.kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/committees/misc/01162024drcynthialaneadditionaldocumentsblueprintforliteracyprogressreport1152025.pdf.
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