Southwest Kansas students vary in their performance on state assessments in reading and math, but at many area schools, reading emerged as the stronger subject.

At 15 schools in southwest Kansas, the number of students meeting grade-level expectations on reading tests was more than 10 percent higher than those performing at grade level in math.

Math outpaced reading by at least 10 percent at six area schools.

Kansas schools are required to administer the assessments each spring as part of the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

The legislation requires states to set incrementally increasing benchmarks for the percentage of students who must score "meets standard" or higher on the assessments. Schools that meet the benchmarks, and other requirements of attendance and graduation rates, are said to make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). Schools that don't face sanctions, like requirements that students can transfer elsewhere or that the school will provide funds for parents to use private tutors.

For 2007, reading benchmarks were set at 69.5 percent for elementary and middle schools, and 65 percent for high schools. Math targets were 66.8 percent for elementary and middle schools, and 55.7 percent for high schools.

Judi Miller, assistant director of state and federal programs with the Kansas State Department of Education, said the targets were based on federal requirements from No Child Left Behind.

The legislation asked states to follow a procedure for developing targets based on actual state testing data. With that data as a starting point, the state department determined how much scores would need to improve each year to reach No Child Left Behind's aim of 100 percent proficiency by 2014, Miller said.

Performance had been lower in math than in reading when targets were set, she said.

Performance in math remains lower for Kansas students sixth grade and older, according to 2007 state results. But for third through fifth grade, more Kansas students scored "meets standard" in math than in reading.

This year's results were up from last year's in both subjects, according to the Kansas State Department of Education.

"Kansas students should be especially proud of their tremendous gains in mathematics achievement," Kansas Education Commissioner Alexa Posny said in a press release. "Increasingly higher targets each year in mathematics have been met by our students."

USD 216 Deerfield is one area school district where reading emerged this year as the stronger subject at all schools. Of those tested, 76.6 percent of Deerfield students scored at least "meets standard" in reading vs. 58.6 percent in math.

Deerfield Middle School, where 51.8 percent of students made "meets standard" on math tests, did not make AYP in that subject.

Deerfield Superintendent Jon Ansley said the district's reading curriculum has been better aligned to state standards than its math curriculum.

"That's one of the things we've worked on," he said. "We've really taken a look this year at particular items on the test we haven't done as well on to see what we need to focus on."

Ansley said it's a challenge to prepare for the math tests because if a student misses a concept early on, it's difficult to build on that idea in later grades.

Also, math takes off in many directions as students progress, he said. There's a lot to address, and some of it has been addressed after the test is administered -- something USD 216 is trying to change.

USD 467 Leoti also posted higher numbers in reading than in math, though its schools earned Standard of Excellence awards for high performance in both subjects.

At Leoti's Wichita County High School, preparing for the assessments is a "school-wide project," Principal Dan Walker said. About 92 percent of the school's students performed at grade level in reading vs. 81.5 percent in math.

Walker said he thinks reading is a strength there because teachers incorporate reading in all areas of the curriculum, instead of confining the subject to a single class.

The school's reading program, which has a heavy dose of vocabulary, helps English-as-a-Second-Language students who may struggle on the assessments, Walker said. Those learning English have to take the tests, which are written in English, if they've lived in the United States for a year or more.

At USD 467, 83.6 percent of students scored at "meets standard" on reading tests, and 84.5 did so in math.

Lakin Middle School is taking up a focus on vocabulary and ESL assistance, after a few struggles in reading, said Principal Tammie Sabata. About 68 percent of students there scored at grade level in reading vs. about 82 percent in math.

Sabata said teachers have been making sure the school's curriculum is aligned with state expectations in all subject areas. USD 215 Lakin also uses the A+ Program, which allows students to take practice tests so teachers can see what they know and where they need work.

Part of the reason for the middle school students' success in math, Sabata said, might be the hands-on math lab that provides activities in areas where students are struggling.

She said the district is working on improving reading programs, and it has hired two paraprofessionals to serve students learning English.

"Our district looked at our needs and said, 'We need to get someone in the middle school,'" Sabata said.