LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Kentucky Department of Education released this year’s state assessment data Thursday, and while the majority of the data is similar to last year, elementary schools saw noticeable declines in all areas.
Schools in Kentucky and across the nation continue to recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which greatly affected student test scores. However most of the state report card data shows test score averages holding steady from last year, with a few big drops and jumps.
The overall performance rating across the state of Kentucky for middle and high school students was largely the same as last year, with middle schoolers' score going up half a point and high school declining by just 0.1, according to the annual Kentucky School Report Card.
Elementary schools, however, saw a decrease in test scores from last year by a whopping 4.3 points. Scores dropped for elementary students across all subjects, but especially English Language Progress. Last year, elementary schools in Kentucky earned a score of 79.7 for English language progress and this year they scored 60.6.
One bright spot in the data is found in Kentucky middle schools' scores. The English Language Progress score for middle schoolers jumped over six points from 22.6 last year to 28.8 this year.
Robbie Fletcher, Kentucky's commissioner of the Department of Education, believes test scores fail to tell the full story of public education. "Student growth is where did you get the child, and where did you take them," he mused at a press conference on the results.
The department is working on a new accountability system that may show a more complete picture. You can weigh in on that process with this survey.
JCPS Report Card Results
Jefferson County Public Schools are reporting promising test scores and graduation rate for students in the largest district in the state.
JCPS graduation post-secondary readiness rates reached an all-time high, according to results of the 2023-24 Kentucky Summative Assessment (KSA).
The results also show the gap between Black and white students' graduation rate post-secondary readiness is narrowing.
"The continuing gains in graduation and post-secondary readiness rates coupled with the reduction in the gaps between Black and white students is encouraging," said JCPS Superintendent Marty Pollio. "More of our students are receiving a diploma and are fully prepared for college, technical school or a career. That's good news, not only for our students and their families but our community as well."
The KSA results show JCPS' overall graduation rate increased to 88.2% and the gap between Black and white graduation rates in shrinking. Two years ago, the difference was three percentage points and now there is just a half a percentage point between the groups.
The average graduation rate for Black students is at an all-time high of 88.9%.
Overall, math proficiency rates increased slightly while reading proficiency rates dipped slightly to 2022 levels. JCPS officials believe late buses last year impacted some test scores.
"It's clear that students missing millions of minutes of instructional time due to late buses had an impact on learning last year," Pollio said.
The superintendent also noted chronic absenteeism and teacher shortages had an impact on student success at JCPS and across the country.
KSA results show students who were chronically absent were 56% less likely to score proficient or distinguished in reading and 65% less likely to score high in math.
Students with teacher vacancies during the 2023-24 school year saw their odds of scoring proficient or higher in reading and math decrease by 26% and 40%, respectively, according to JCPS officials.
"As I have said repeatedly, test scores are only one measure of the success of a school district and its students," Pollio said. "We recognize there is room for improvement, but we continue to make significant progress toward our goal of graduating ALL students to be skilled, critical thinkers who are ready to make significant contributions to our community. In many ways, those successes can't be measured by a standardized test."
