The Kentucky Department of Education will release individual district and school accountability test results this week, including test scores, graduation rates and how many students are college and career ready.
WFPL will have coverage of the test results starting Friday morning on air at 89.3 and online here at WFPL.org. The new system is meant to do a better job of determining if educators are preparing students for life after high school and how much improvement schools are making from year to year. Last year was the first time results of the new Unbridled Learning system were released, so this will be the first year results can be compared, officials say. Here are last year's results for Jefferson County Public Schools. Education Commissioner Terry Holliday has already announced a spike in Kentucky’s graduation rate and college and career readinessrate. Holliday previously said he plans a joint press conference with JCPS Superintendent Donna Hargens on Friday to announce the scores, adding some of the district’s lowest performing schools have made great strides and he wants to commend their efforts. Holliday was critical of some of those schools earlier this year and threatened a state takeover if the district couldn’t improve student achievement. There are five main parts of the state's accountability system that measure overall school performance. At the elementary level it measures achievement, gap and growth. For middle schools it's achievement, gap, growth and college-and-career readiness. And for high schools it's achievement, gap, growth, college-and-career readiness and graduation rates. Growth will be an important measure to watch because that will show whether schools are making necessary progress even though they may be performing below average overall. KDE officials say it can be compared to the "Adequate Yearly Progress" under No Child Left Behind. Here's what those key terms above mean:
- Achievement – Just as in the past, elementary and middle school students’ scores will be labeled as novice, apprentice, proficient or distinguished. Kentucky’s goal is 100 percent proficiency for all students. At high school, achievement is based on end-of-course exams and an on-demand writing test.
- Gap – Schools will compare test results for African-American, Hispanic, Native American, special education, low income and limited English proficiency students, combined into one gap group, to results for other students who aren’t in those categories.
- Growth – A statistical program will measure how much students’ scores are improving from one year to the next.
- College/Career Readiness – Schools and districts will provide information about how many students are ready for college and/or careers, based on test scores and certifications earned.
- Graduation Rate – Schools and districts will report how many students graduate within four years of high school.
To see more on the state's accountability system click here. (Image via Shutterstock)
