By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
Assessment scores for Hays USD 489 rose in math and fell slightly in English in 2026.
The state released the scores to the public this week, and the Hays school board heard a report on the scores at its meeting on Monday.
The state’s goal is to have at least 75% of students in the upper two levels of the four-level scoring system.
Students scoring on level one are considered to have limited skills at grade level. Level two is basic skills at grade level, and level three and four students meet and exceed grade level.
The percentage of students in Hays USD 489 scoring in the top tier in English rose slightly, while the percentage scoring in tier three fell by 2%.
Shanna Dinkel, assistant superintendent and director of curriculum, said the district began using a new English curriculum in 2026, which might explain the small dip in English scores.
“The other thing we look at with state assessments is we want to decrease those in level one. Level one [students have] just limited skills when it comes to grade-level standards. So we did increase slightly, 1.82% in level one when it came to ELA from last year,” she said.
Hays USD 489 is outpacing the state average in math, English and science.
In English, the scores were about 7.7% better than the state average, and in math they were about 8.25% better than the state average.
The Hays USD 489 math scores increased by 2.5% from the previous year.
“Our focus has been a lot on math,” Dinkel said. “We've talked to you about math, and you're going to see some positives with math.
“Sometimes it's hard to keep all the balls in the air, and so we need to make sure that even though we're focusing on math, we don't lose sight of what needs to still happen with [English].”
Dinkel said the district continues to use targeted funds to support title reading instruction.
Hays Middle School changed its schedule two years ago to dedicate more time to English and math instruction and saw an increase in scores as a result, Dinkel said.
Eighth grade students scoring in the top two tiers jumped almost 20 percent from 2025 to 2026 in math.
Dinkel also reminded the board that the Kansas Board of Education adjusted the assessment levels in 2025.
She said statewide, some students scoring in level two performed well in their coursework and on the ACT.
She said the graphs show a significant increase in scores from 2024 to 2025 as a result.
The district's official science scores show a slight decline in the top two tiers for 2026. However, the state did not report science scores for the high school in 2025.
Dinkel said the Kansas Legislature is requiring districts to create at-risk accountability plans, which the district plans to submit by the end of October.
The district will monitor fourth-grade at-risk students during the next four years. The district will compare their scores this year with those when they are seventh graders.
Failure to meet growth goals could affect the district’s at-risk funding, Dinkel said.
You can see the full Hays report or search other schools on the Kansas Department of Education website.