KY state testing data show medium results across schools. Leaders say ‘there is no quick fix’

Only 20% of all schools in Kentucky had more than half of their students testing at the highest levels in math, according to statewide spring 2022 test results released Tuesday by the Kentucky Department of Education.

Overall, Kentucky’s elementary, middle and high schools received a yellow, or medium, rating in a new color-coded accountability system.

“As expected, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on our students and our schools as they continue to recover from the interrupted learning that occurred over the past two years,” Kentucky Education Commissioner Jason E. Glass said in a statement. “These assessment results will serve as the baseline from which we will move forward as we look to new and innovative learning opportunities for all of Kentucky’s students.”

Glass said Kentucky’s results are consistent with other states.

“It’s disappointing, but it’s also expected,” Glass said at a news conference. “I think everybody needs to take a breath and get back to work. We knew these gaps existed before, we know the distance that we need to cover, and it’s most important now to just start leaning into the work of supporting and educating our students.

“There is no quick fix for the challenges our students endured during the pandemic,” he said. “It’s going to take time and it’s going to take resources.”

He said the data should be used responsibly to help inform parents and families about schools and to allow local leaders to target resources to communities and schools that need them most. A single test score doesn’t provide a complete measure of student achievement, Glass said.

Glass said this year’s assessment and accountability report cannot be directly compared to previous years as a result of changes in the assessment and accountability systems.

The 2020 General Assembly made significant changes to the statewide accountability system, which are reflected in the data. Kentucky’s 2022 School Report Card features the state’s new color-coded accountability system, which was previously a 5-star system.

Using data from the 2021-2022 school year, the accountability system provides a color-coded rating for each school, ranging from red (lowest) to blue (highest). Districts also receive a separate overall color-coded rating for each level of schools — elementary, middle and high.

The Kentucky Department of Education released a chart that showed that the bulk of schools in the state received orange and yellow ratings. Only 59 elementary schools, 28 middle schools and 11 high schools in the state received the highest color of blue, according to a KDE news release. Twenty-three Kentucky school districts received a blue rating for their elementary, middle or high school performance.

In any given year, a single test score does not provide a complete or precise measure of student achievement, state education officials said.

Statewide tests were administered to more than 383,000 students in grades 3 through 8 and 10 through 11 during the spring of 2022.

Accountability and federal statuses — such as Comprehensive School Improvement and Targeted School Improvement — are being reported for the first time since 2019.

The state’s goal is to move all students to a higher performance category and ultimately to the proficient performance level or above. Student performance on the tests serves as the basis for several indicators in Kentucky’s accountability system.

Digging into the numbers

A Herald-Leader analysis of the data for 2021-2022 showed:

At 222 schools in the state, 50% or more students tested proficient and distinguished in the area of math — that’s 20% of the 1,091 schools included in the testing data provided by KDE.

Those top two levels, proficient and distinguished, are considered to be at or above expected grade-level performance.

Across all schools statewide — elementary, middle and high — SCAPA at Bluegrass Elementary in Fayette County had the highest number of students testing at proficient and distinguished rankings in math with 84%. SCAPA at Bluegrass Middle was No. 6 in the state with 77%.

Students at 380 schools in the state, or about 35%, tested 50% or above proficient and distinguished in the area of reading. Only two schools in the state had 10% or less students testing at that level.

Other trends in math include:

• Over half of the students at 114 schools tested novice in the area of math. Eight schools had over 70% of students testing at that level. Kennedy Montessori Elementary in Jefferson County had the highest number of students testing at the novice level in math at 77%.

• Across all elementary schools statewide, SCAPA at Bluegrass Elementary had the highest number of students testing at the proficient and distinguished level in math at 84%.

• Statewide among middle schools, Anchorage Independent Public School in Anchorage Independent District had the highest number of students testing at the proficient and distinguished level in math at 79%. SCAPA at Bluegrass Middle came in No. 2 with 77%.

• Schools in Jefferson County made up the five highest middle schools in the state testing at the novice level in math.

• Pikeville High School in Pikeville Independent District saw 81% of its students test at the proficient and distinguished level in math, the highest statewide.
  
  

• The high school with the largest share of novice math testers was Waggener in Jefferson County with 65%.

In the area of reading, noticeable data points were:

• SCAPA at Bluegrass Elementary and Middle programs were in the top 5 schools statewide for students testing at proficient and distinguished levels. SCAPA Middle was tied for No. 2 with 84% and SCAPA Elementary was tied for No. 3 with 83%.

• The 14 most novice schools statewide in reading were all in Jefferson County — Iroquois High came in No. 1 with 80% of students testing novice. Booker T. Washington Elementary in Fayette County was the 15th highest.
  
  

• Out of all middle schools programs in the state, SCAPA at Bluegrass in Fayette County was No. 1 in students testing proficient and distinguished in reading with 84%. It also had the lowest number of students testing in novice reading level with 3%.
  
  

• No middle school in the state had less than 10% of its students test at the proficient and distinguished levels.

• Sixteen middle schools in the state had 50% or higher of their students testing at the novice level in reading. The most-novice school was Stuart Academy in Jefferson County with 70% of students testing at that level.

• duPont Manual High in Jefferson County was No. 1 in the state for students testing in proficient and distinguished levels for reading with 84%.

• Only one high school in the state had less than 10% of its students testing at the proficient and distinguished levels in reading — 7% at Iroquois High in Jefferson County.

• Nine high schools in the state had 50% or more students testing at the novice level in reading.

Student demographics

The data released Tuesday showed that achievement gaps persist at schools in the state, according to the Herald-Leader analysis.

For example, in elementary math scores across the state: 43% percent of white students scored proficient or distinguished compared with 16% Black students.

State education officials said the gaps that were in place before the pandemic are now larger than they were before.