Members of the Kansas State Board of Education approved new performance level descriptors (PLDs) for the revised 2025 state assessments during their May meeting in Topeka. 

“It’s clarity,” Beth Fultz, director of the Kansas State Department of Education’s Career, Standards and Assessment Services, told board members. “It’s just clarifying what the test will measure.” 

The revised performance level descriptors were developed and reviewed by Kansas experts and educators over the past year. The PLDs will provide a foundation for setting cut scores that identify the level of proficiency students achieve on the assessments. 

The current descriptors, originally developed in 2015, emphasized a student’s college and career readiness. The updated descriptors more clearly reflect that the assessment measures the student’s ability to demonstrate their knowledge and skills of grade level content.  

• A student at Level 1 shows a limited ability to demonstrate their knowledge and skills of (third, fourth, fifth, etc.) grade (ELA, math, science) standards.     
• A student at Level 2 shows a basic ability to demonstrate their knowledge and skills of (third, fourth, fifth, etc.) grade (ELA, math, science) standards.   
• A student at Level 3 shows a proficient ability to demonstrate their knowledge and skills of (third, fourth, fifth, etc.) grade (ELA, math, science) standards.   
• A student at Level 4 shows an advanced ability to demonstrate their knowledge and skills of (third, fourth, fifth, etc.) grade (ELA, math, science) standards.  

Fultz told board members the 2025 assessments have new test items and are shorter, a request made by educators. She said the changes are also meant to lead to a better testing experience. Updating the tests, the performance level descriptors and the cut scores are also required by the U.S. Department of Education. 

Board members also heard a presentation from Dr. Karla Egan of EdMetric, on how cut scores are developed. During the board’s July meeting, members will be presented with recommended cut scores developed by 140 Kansas educators in preparation for a final vote in August. 

During their May meeting, board members also approved additions to the list of training courses for the KSDE Seal of Literacy. These additions were endorsed by the KSDE literacy team and are accredited by the International Multisensory Structured Language Education Council (IMSLEC) and International Dyslexia Association (IDA). 

The approved trainings are “Structured Literacy Intervention Specialist - Alphabetic Phonics (Cox) – Introduction”, “Literacy Redefined” for classroom teachers and “R.E.A.D Redefined” for reading specialists.  

Board members decided to approve the additions to the Seal of Literacy training list a month early so educators would have more time to enroll in the course of choice prior to the start of the 2025-26 school year. 

In other action, board members: 

• Approved funding for preschool-aged at-risk programs in 271 school districts for the 2025-26 school year. 
• Approved the funding request for the 2025-26 AmeriCorps grant in the event the application is approved. 
• Approved the educator preparation provider standards for history, government and social studies for grades 5-8 and 6-12. 
• Approved a five-year, $200,000 contract with the Kansas Office of Administrative Hearings so KSDE can conduct special education due process hearings, appeals of the audits of the Child Nutrition Program Administrative Review and the proceedings of the Professional Practices Commission. 
• Approved the Professional Practices Commission recommendation and the nomination for the Licensure Review Committee. 
• Approved the items on the consent agenda (Click here for the May agenda that includes the consent items). 

Board members also heard presentations on their role in the distribution of federal and state funds and how KSDE collects and protects student data. Updates were provided for KESA 2.0 and the Great Ideas in Education Conference slated for July 28-30, in Wichita. A wrap-up of the education-related legislation passed by the 2025 Kansas Legislature was also presented to the board. 

Other presentations included those from the 2025 Kansas Senate Youth delegates Erin Tims, a senior at Larned High School, Larned USD 495, and Sophia Hsu, a senior at Mill Valley High School, De Soto USD 232. The board also heard a performance from a barbershop quartet comprised of seniors from Lawrence High School, Lawrence USD 497. 

Board members also received several items that are expected to be on their June meeting agenda for final action: 

• A recommendation that evidence-based at-risk programs accredited through the International Dyslexia Association (IDA) be approved as well as programs and services provided by any other nonprofit organization that is accredited by the International Multisensory Structured Language Education Council (IMSLEC). 
• A proposed bullying reporting process presented by board member Betty Arnold.   
• Nominations for the Professional Standards Board and the Evaluation Review Committee. 
• A modification to the emergency substitute license. 
• Recommendations for career and technical education pathway credentials. 

The board will meet June 10-11, in the first-floor board room of the Landon State Office Building, 900 S.W. Jackson, in Topeka.