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Test scores released

Overall state shows little improvement

By Greg Bird
birdman@tmcvoice.com

State school test data was released Wednesday showing little overall growth in Kentucky schools over the past year, but offering a more precise roadmap for improvement in the future.
Locally, McCreary County Schools showed improvements in nearly all content areas, and local educators are pleased with the overall results.
“We are extremely happy with the results,” Superintendent Michael Cash said Wednesday. “We see there are areas where we need continued improvement, but we see many areas of strength as well.”
Aaron Anderson, Assistant Superintendent for the District said the data shows the school district has been “ahead of the curve” when it comes to innovating and shaping a rounded curriculum.
The data released does not show overall growth across the Commonwealth according to Kentucky Commissioner of Education Wayne Lewis.
“There are not a lot of positives here,” he said. “For the past five years there has been virtually no movement. We are not improving. And achievement gaps between student populations continue to be incredibly disturbing.”
The Kentucky Department of Education is making changes to the accountability system, phasing in a new model to the system to conform to the Every Student Succeeds Act and Kentucky Senate Bill 1. Once fully integrated schools will be ranked under a 5-star system.
With the transition it was difficult for school administrators to know exactly what data was being used for the assessment, and were not even aware of the final benchmark targets until a few weeks ago.
Anderson said the District’s focus over the past few years on a more rounded education for students has paid dividends as the new assessment model looks at areas where the focus has already been.
“Our District’s focus on individual student monitoring and reinforcement, as well as our work at the pre-school and kindergarten level has helped us as we transition in to the new system,” he said. “It has been tough not knowing where the state was going to put the benchmarks, but these scores show it is clear we are doing something right. It has put us in a position to succeed.”
Each grade level (elementary, middle and high school) were evaluated on different indicators to give an overall assessment. At the elementary and middle school levels the results factored in proficiency and distinguished scores in reading and mathematics for a proficiency rating. Scores in science, social studies and writing contributed to a “Separate Academic Indicator’s score. Finally each school received an overall growth score.
High schools’ scores were based on Junior’s reading and math scores in the ACT, transition readiness and graduation rate.
According to the data McCreary Central High School saw 40.2 percent of students tested at proficient or distinguished in reading and 29.3 percent in math in the ACT last year. State averages for each category were 45.4 and 37.5 percent respectively.
The school’s transition readiness scores surpass the state average with 69.2 percent of students meeting the minimum graduation requirements and meeting at least one academic or career readiness benchmarks. The state average for transition readiness stands at 60.2 percent.
The school’s graduation rate of 97.8 percent is also well above the state average of 90.8 percent.
Sharon Privett, Principal at MCHS, said she was “very, very proud” of the results.
“We take pride in the fact that we are ahead of the state in graduation rate and transition readiness,” she said. “It is the best practice for students to offer a well-rounded education, and now that is being recognized at the state level (through the new assessment).”
Privett added she expects to see a larger gain in the transition score next year as the state did not factor dual credit gains or students registering for military service in this year’s model.
Whitley City Elementary saw gains in students testing at the proficient or distinguished level in reading, but were below state averages. 48.5 percent of WCE students tested at the highest levels in reading, compared to 46.3 percent last year and 54.6 across the state.
The proficient and distinguished math scores fell slightly from last year to 36.3 percent. Last year the score was 39.9 percent, a drop of 3.6 percent. The state average is 48 percent.
Principal Skip Jones noted the emphasis over the past two years has been on reducing the number of students at the novice level, and that number has indeed dropped. Jones said he expects to see significant growth as those students transition to higher levels of proficiency.
“We are very excited,” he said.
Separate Academic Indicator scores (science, social studies, writing) for WCE was 59.2, below the state norm of 64.8. The school also saw a growth score of 15, while the state average was 17.1.
“I think the teachers will be very happy to see these results,” said Pine Knot Elementary’s Principal Rebecca Blakely. “We are above the state average in all categories.”
PKE’s reading scores showed gains, exceeding state averages, continuing the school’s trend. 62 percent of students tested above the proficient level, up 0.2 percent from 2016-17 and 5.4 percent above the state average.
Proficient/distinguished math scores dropped 2.9 percent to 57.6, but were nearly 10 full points ahead of the state average.
The schools SAI and growth scores outpaced the state averages with 74.8 and 17.8 respectively.
McCreary Middle saw gains in reading scores and a slight drop in math. The growth rate of 7.3 was nearly 5 points below the state average of 12.1, while the SAI score of 65.2 was just 1.6 points below the state average.
Principal Todd Waters said there is obvious room for improvement, but is pleased with the overall scores – especially when compared to other area middle schools.
“We are in the top 67 percent of schools in the state, which is right where we need to be after a baseline year,” he said. “If you look through the scores we are right in the middle, with plenty of room for improvement.”
Waters pointed out MCMS scored significantly higher in every category than other middle schools in the area, including Wayne County, Clinton County and Williamsburg.
One area where McCreary schools performed well was in science, with each school’s results above the state average. Science has not been part of accountability testing for the past several years, so some school districts floundered when it was learned the subject would be returning to the accountability model.
The state report identified 51 schools across Kentucky for Comprehensive Support and Instruction (CSI). Those schools are in the bottom five percent of schools in each level, or had a graduation rate lower than 80 percent. Those schools will receive state support in the coming year to foster improvement.
Another 418 schools were identified for Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI). Those schools have at least one student group performing as poorly as schools in the bottom five percent, and will also receive some resources to help improve those targeted areas.
None of the four McCreary County schools in the report have been identified as CSI or TSI schools, meaning they have met most or all benchmarks identified in the new accountability system.
For comparison Williamsburg Independent School has been labeled a CSI school in Whitley County. North Laurel high School, South Laurel High School, Southwestern High School, Northern Middle, Southern Middle and Wayne County Middle School are all area schools listed as TSI.
More information on school test scores can be found at the Kentucky Department of Education data portal: http://openhouse.education.ky.gov/Data.

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