KSNT.com | Accessed on November 2, 2011

Schools across the country spend thousands every year to motivate their students to perform well on tests, but one Kansas school district is proving less really is more.

According to The Global Report Card, the Waconda School District has the nation's second highest math test scores and 18th highest reading test scores. Its students are also outperforming 90 percent of students in America and 20 other developed nations.

The Report's top school district is in the affluent area of Pellham, Massachusetts, where the average household income is $75,000, a huge leap from the Waconda District where 65 percent of students live at the poverty level.

But money does not deter the district's students from pursuing higher education. In fact, USD 272 has an 85 percent college enrollment rate.

Superintendent Jeff Travis said the schools' small class sizes and high parental involvement help students achieve such strong scores.

http://www.ksnt.com/news/local/story/Rural-Kansas-school-district-outper...