Topeka ? Kansas had fewer failing schools this year than last year, and some officials believe large increases in state aid deserve much of the credit.

For the 2006-07 school year, 154 schools failed to show adequate progress toward improving students’ scores on reading and math tests, the Department of Education reported Tuesday. That’s about 18 percent fewer than the 187 schools failing to make adequate progress in 2005-06.

But the number of school districts where students failed overall to show adequate progress rose, to 33 in 2006-07 from 31 the year before.

The federal No Child Left Behind law, approved in 2001, requires all public school students to be proficient in reading and math by 2014. Generally, Kansas and other states have increased their targets each year for how many students must be proficient.

Statewide, the latest numbers also are significant because many educators hope to demonstrate that increases in aid approved in recent years by legislators are improving the state’s public schools. Legislators promised to phase in $831 million in increases over from the 2005-06 school year through the 2008-09 school year.

“There’s no doubt that the Legislature’s adding significant new dollars has been leveraged into higher test scores,” said Diane Gjerstad, a lobbyist for the Wichita school district, the state’s largest.

Under federal law, schools and districts that have high concentrations of poor students and fail to make adequate progress face sanctions, including reorganizing schools or allowing parents to move their children to another school. Other districts don’t face sanctions other than bad publicity from being on the state’s list.

“My guess is those schools are making progress,” said Education Commissioner Alexa Posny. “They’re just not making it at the rate that was asked for.”

For 2006-07, 263 of the state’s 296 school districts – or nearly 89 percent – made adequate progress on improving test scores. The figure for 2005-06 was 269 districts out of 300, or nearly 90 percent. Mergers accounted for the change in the number of districts.

Lawrence was among those who did not make adequate progress.

Two weeks ago, Lawrence district leaders said the district didn’t make the list because of a technicality dealing with its high population of special education students. Districtwide, students scored proficiently in every student group, except for special education students in reading.

In 2006-07, 1,383 public schools were open and nearly 89 percent of them, or 1,229, showed adequate progress in improving test scores. In 2005-06, the state had 1,393 schools, and about 87 percent, or 1,206, did. Again, mergers led to fewer schools being open in 2006-07.

At the same time, the state’s targets have been getting tougher as it moves toward requiring all students to be proficient. For example, in 2005-06, 46.8 percent of high school students in each school and district were supposed to be proficient in math, but the figure was 55.7 percent for 2006-07. It will rise to 64.6 percent for 2007-08.

“We’ll have a challenge next year as those targets continue to increase,” said Tom Foster, deputy education secretary for learning services.

In Lawrence, all of the elementary schools and Free State High School met adequate standards. However, the district’s four junior high schools and Lawrence High School did not.