Education policy experts differ over the causes of achievement gaps among Kansas public school students and whether the state is putting the right focus on how to boost scores.

The discussion occurred Thursday during a joint meeting of the House and Senate education committees to review state scores on a national reading assessment and state funding for schools.

State Education Commission Diane DeBacker and Dave Trabert, executive director of the Kansas Policy Institute, did agree that achievement gaps were widening between poor and wealthy students. The two disagree on whether state funding earmarked for helping students at risk of failure was working or appropriate.

Legislators were reviewing scores on the National Assessment of Education Progress which measures students in math and reading.