The Kentucky Department of Education is preparing the media this week for its new accountability data expected to be released next month.The new system is meant to simplify accountability by using five main data sets to provide each district and school a score.The data includes some the state was already using like achievement gaps, graduation rates and state test scores, but it will also include growth and new college-and-career ready standards.These will then generate a score, said Terry Holliday, education commission for the Kentucky Department of Education.“We have simplified the system so that it’s on a scale that everyone is familiar with, 0 to 100. Then we will rank order every school and every district in Kentucky and you will see a percentile rank," he said.The scores will let the public know if a school or district is "distinguished", "proficient" or "needs improvement."These labels will help determine which schools or districts receive financial support and interventions from the state.To see more on the new Unbridled Learning system visit the Kentucky Department of Education website.Officials have been telling the media and parents for the past year that the number of students deemed proficient under the state's new accountability measures will likely drop significantly--we're told over 30 percentage points--but Holliday said that’s only because the bar is set so much higher.Parents will be able to track whether their child is meeting the college-and-career ready standards by the third grade and can track that progress until they graduate.Here is a parents guide to testing in Kentucky.Here is a parents guide to school accountability.
