Fayette statewide test scores ‘unacceptable’ superintendent says, but he is hopeful

Fayette County Public Schools on Tuesday received a rating of yellow, or medium, for each school level in Kentucky’s new K-12 school accountability system which is based on 2021-2022 academic year data.

“We own this data and we are accepting responsibility for changing it. More of the same is not the answer. Shaking up these results requires truly new approaches as we blaze a new way forward for the Fayette County Public Schools,” said Superintendent Demetrus Liggins.

In the new color-coded system, school districts receive ratings that correspond to red (the lowest), orange, yellow, green and blue (the highest) for each level of schools: elementary, middle and high. Fayette schools in Lexington were labeled yellow, or 3, at each overall level.

District officials said of the 55 schools eligible for scores, the district had 7 schools in blue, 14 schools in green, 12 schools in yellow, 22 schools in orange, and two schools in red.

In addition to colors, student test scores were grouped according to the performance levels of novice, apprentice, proficient and distinguished.

Although Fayette County continues to outperform state averages in general, Liggins said, he described Fayette County’s scores as “unacceptable.“

Too many students scored at the lowest performance levels, he said. And too many of them were in historically marginalized groups, such as Black or brown students, those who were economically disadvantaged or have disabilities.

Although the scores were not the best news, Liggins said he was hopeful that students would progress as a result of practices the school district had implemented. He said students were growing academically and shouldn’t be defined by a score in high stakes testing.

The results released publicly Tuesday showed student performance at lower levels across Kentucky, he said.

A Herald-Leader analysis of the data from statewide tests taken last spring called the Kentucky Summative Assessment showed that many schools in Fayette County underperformed in math, but fared better in reading.

SCAPA was rated No. 2 in elementary and middle school programs in the state, with the elementary program receiving a 97.9 rating and the middle a 94. SCAPA Elementary was also the top elementary school in the state in the number of students scoring proficient and distinguished in math.

Elementary Schools

According the the analysis, 21 of 38 Fayette elementary schools had below 50% of students testing at proficient and distinguished in math.

Among Fayette County elementary schools, the highest elementary level math scores were SCAPA with 84% of students testing proficient and distinguished, Rosa Parks with 74% and Athens-Chilesburg with 72%.

The elementary schools with the least percentages of students at the proficient and distinguished level in math included Booker T. Washington at 14%, Harrison at 12% and Arlington at 11%. Three schools had data suppressed in math — William Wells, Northern and Russell Cave — possibly due to the small number of students tested.

Schools with the biggest shares of elementary students testing novice in math were: Cardinal Valley, 60%; Harrison 59%; Arlington, 57 %; Booker T. Washington, 55%; Mary Todd, 54%; James Lane Allen, 50%.

In reading, the elementary schools that had the highest percentage of proficient and distinguished students were: SCAPA, 83%; Rosa Parks, 77%; and Athens-Chilesburg, 75%.

The schools with the least percentage of students who tested at the proficient and distinguished level in reading were: Booker T. Washington, 16%; Arlington, 16%; Cardinal Valley, 17%.

Twenty out of 38 elementary schools had below 50% of students in proficient and distinguished in reading.

In reading, no elementary schools had below 10% of students testing proficient and distinguished but five schools were below 20%, including William Wells Brown, Harrison, Cardinal Valley, Arlington and Booker T. Washington.

In reading, Fayette elementary schools with the biggest percentage of students testing novice included Booker T. Washington, 63%; Russell Cave, 53%; Harrison, 52%; Cardinal Valley, 52%; and Arlington, 50%.

If a school is in the bottom 5% of all schools based on the overall school score, they receive a federal classification of Comprehensive Support and Intervention, or CSI, which will provide them with extra support. Harrison and Williams Wells elementary schools were the only Fayette schools to fall in this category.

Middle Schools

In math, the schools that had the largest percentage of proficient and distinguished students are SCAPA, 77%; Edythe Jones Hayes, 61%; Morton, 54%; Jessie M Clark, 52%; and Beaumont, 51%. Those with the lowest percentages were Lexington Traditional Magnet, 20%; Crawford, 22%; Winburn, 27%; Bryan Station Middle, 30%; and Tates Creek Middle, 32%. None were below 20%.

Schools with more than 50% novice testers in math were Lexington Traditional, 52%; Winburn, 50%; and Crawford, 50%.

In reading, the highest percentage of middle school students who scored proficient and distinguished were SCAPA, 84%; Edythe Jones Hayes, 66%; Morton, 62%; Jessie Clark, 56%; and Beaumont, 55%.

Middle schools that had less than 50% of students scoring proficient and distinguished in reading were Leestown Middle, 46%; Bryan Station Middle, 42%; Southern Middle, 42%; Tates Creek, 37%; Winburn, 33%; Crawford, 32%; and Lexington Traditional Magnet, 29%.

No Fayette middle schools had less than 20% of students proficient and distinguished in reading.

The middle schools with biggest share of students testing novice in reading were: Lexington Traditional Magnet Middle, 44%; Crawford Middle, 43%; Tates Creek Middle School, 42%; Winburn Middle School, 41%; and Bryan Station Middle School, 34%.

No Fayette middle schools had more than 50% of students testing novice in reading.

High Schools

Lafayette High School had the top percentage of students testing proficient and distinguished in math. The other high schools received:

1. Lafayette High School, 54%

2. Dunbar High School, 50%

3. Henry Clay High School, 43%

4. Frederick Douglass High, 39%

5. Tates Creek High School, 33%

6. Bryan Station High School, 23%

In math, 49% of Bryan Station students tested novice, the highest for the district..

In reading, the percentage of students scoring proficient and distinguished were:

1. Lafayette, 63%

2. Dunbar, 55%

3. Douglass, 51%

4. Henry Clay, 43%

5. Tates Creek, 38%

6. Bryan Station, 29%

Bryan Station also had the highest share of novice testers in reading for the district, with 46%.

The Fayette County data showed that achievement gaps persist. For example, among elementary schools, 57% of white students scored proficient and distinguished compared to 22% Black students.

Liggins said the COVID-19 pandemic has had an effect on many students, which has manifested through slowed academic progress, more social, emotional and mental health needs, and difficulties adjusting back to school after months of at-home learning.

Officials said in Fayette County, 34 schools were identified for “Targeted Support and Intervention” because the scores for individual groups of students were below the state requirements. The most frequent groups where additional attention was needed was for students receiving special education services, students learning English, students living in poverty, and students whose race is Black or Hispanic.

RANKINGS

Here’s where Fayette County’s elementary, middle and high schools rank when sorted by the overall rating given by the state.

ALL SCHOOLS

1. SCAPA (elementary): 97.9 (Blue)

2. SCAPA (middle): 94 (Blue)

3. Rosa Parks Elementary: 86.1 (Blue)

4. Athens-Chilesburg Elementary: 85.7 (Blue)

5. Clays Mill Elementary: 85.7 (Blue)

6. Cassidy Elementary: 80.9 (Blue)

7. Ashland Elementary: 79.9 (Blue)

8. Meadowthorpe Elementary: 78.1 (Green)

9. Veterans Park Elementary: 77.8 (Green)

10. Garrett Morgan Elementary: 77.3 (Green)

HIGHEST ELEMENTARY SCORES

1. SCAPA at Bluegrass: 97.9 (Blue)

2. Rosa Parks Elementary School: 86.1 (Blue)

3. Clays Mill Elementary School: 85.7 (Blue)

4. Athens-Chilesburg Elementary: 85.7 (Blue)

5. Cassidy Elementary School: 80.9 (Blue)

LOWEST ELEMENTARY SCORES

1. Harrison Elementary School: 33 (Red)

2. William Wells Brown Elementary: 33 (Red)

3. Russell Cave Elementary: 36.3 (Orange)

4. Cardinal Valley Elementary School: 36.6 (Orange)

5. Booker T. Washington Elementary School: 36.7 (Orange)

MIDDLE SCHOOL SCORES

1. SCAPA at Bluegrass: 94 (Blue)

2. Edythe Jones Hayes Middle School: 76 (Blue)

3. Morton Middle School: 70.7 (Green)

4. Jessie M Clark Middle School: 66 (Green)

5. Beaumont Middle School: 65.8 (Green)

6. Leestown Middle School: 55 (Yellow)

7. Southern Middle School: 53 (Yellow)

8. Bryan Station Middle School: 49.4 (Orange)

9. Tates Creek Middle School: 44.4 (Orange)

10. Winburn Middle School: 43.9 (Orange)

11. Lexington Traditional Magnet School: 41.6 (Orange)

12. Crawford Middle School: 38.5 (Orange)

HIGH SCHOOL SCORES

1. Lafayette High School: 73.6 (Green)

2. Paul Laurence Dunbar High School: 67.7 (Green)

3. Frederick Douglass High School: 63.6 (Yellow)

4. Henry Clay High School: 59.4 (Yellow)

5. Tates Creek High School: 50 (Orange)

6. Bryan Station High School: 48.1 (Orange)

GRADUATION RATES

District total: 89.8 (Orange)

State total: 91 (Orange)

1. Lafayette High School: 97.2 (Green)

2. Paul Laurence Dunbar High School: 94.1 (Yellow)

3. Henry Clay High School: 93.3 (Yellow)

4. Bryan Station High School: 92.6 (Yellow)

5. Frederick Douglass High School: 92.4 (Yellow)

6. Tates Creek High School: 88.4 (Orange)

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