Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) released annual report Report card data as of September 29, as required by law and under the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).
Kentucky students were administered assessments in the spring of 2021, which was required by USED. This is a strategy to better understand how students who have been tested performed well in school amid a variety of learning disruptions related to COVID-19. USED has given states flexibilities when administering assessments, such as expanded testing windows and shortened assessments.
“We knew these results wouldn’t be what we wanted to see, but the previous two school years were marked by extreme challenges,” said Education Commissioner Jason E. Glass. “We can use this information to fill in the gaps caused by COVID-19-related disruption and provide our students with the support they need to be successful. This is one of the many tools that our districts regularly use to assess where our students are located. “
Since the COVID-19 pandemic affected many aspects of education during the 2020-2021 school year, KDE requested and received a waiver of federal responsibility. Therefore, the indicators and school accountability ratings are not part of the 2020-2021 report. Since no data was reported for evaluation and reporting during the 2019-2020 school year, some trends and comparisons are not being reported in the report card.
The Kentucky School Report Card is divided into key thematic areas. Highlights include:
Academic performance / Assessment results
Kentucky administers state tests called the Kentucky Summative Assessment (KSA), previously known as the Kentucky Performance Rating for Educational Progress (K-PREP). The tests were developed by teachers in Kentucky and align with the Kentucky Academic Standards. Spring 2021 testing, for the first time, was based on all new standards.
Due to COVID-19, students have faced learning disruptions, changes in learning opportunities, lower participation rates, and a shortened assessment in 2021. Due to these challenges, you cannot make direct comparisons of valuation data from previous years.
In spring 2021, more than 329,000 students were tested. The overall participation rate for each content area by grade level is shown in the table below.
Percentage of student participation rate – Spring 2021
| Level | Reading | Mathematics | Science | Writing on demand |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary school | 88.9 | 88.9 | 88.9 | 87.8 |
| Middle school | 84.1 | 83.9 | 83.6 | 82.2 |
| High school | 76.4 | 75.9 | 73.3 | 72.4 |
Despite extremely difficult circumstances, the results of the assessment show that at each grade level, many participating students still achieved a proficiency / distinguished level in most subjects.
Spring 2021 Elementary performance levels Percentage for all students
| Topic | Novice | Apprentice | Competent | Distinct | Competent / Distinguished |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | 34.8 | 25.8 | 26.2 | 13.3 | 39.5 |
| Mathematics | 30.4 | 38.2 | 21.9 | 9.5 | 31.4 |
| Science | 17.0 | 58.0 | 21.8 | 3.3 | 25.1 |
| Writing on demand | 15.6 | 44.6 | 30.9 | 8.9 | 39.8 |
Spring 2021 College performance levels Percentage for all students
| Topic | Novice | Apprentice | Competent | Distinct | Competent / Distinguished |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | 31.4 | 24.6 | 27.1 | 16.9 | 44.0 |
| Mathematics | 30.7 | 41.5 | 20.5 | 7.3 | 27.8 |
| Science | 34.5 | 44.7 | 18.0 | 2.8 | 20.9 |
| Writing on demand | 16.3 | 32.8 | 36.8 | 14.1 | 50.9 |
Percentage of Spring 2021 High School Performance Levels for All Students
| Topic | Novice | Apprentice | Competent | Distinct | Competent / Distinguished |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | 34.8 | 27.3 | 25.4 | 12.4 | 37.9 |
| Mathematics | 35.9 | 33.8 | 24.4 | 5.8 | 30.3 |
| Science | 30.6 | 42.9 | 22.8 | 3.7 | 26.5 |
| Writing on demand | 12.4 | 30.4 | 35.0 | 22.3 | 57.2 |
All Kentucky public school juniors participate in the ACT, which tests students in English, math, reading, and science and is rated on a scale of 1 to 36. Care should be taken when taking interpretation of trends since 2019 due to the impact of COVID-19 on instruction.
ACT Domain Scores for Kentucky Public School Students
| Student groups | English | Mathematics | Reading | Science | Composite | Total tested |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All the students | 17.1 | 17.7 | 18.5 | 18.3 | 18.0 | 42,078 |
Although there was a slight decrease in the overall graduation rate, Kentucky saw a slight increase in the graduation rate among African American students.
“It’s good to see this improvement in the graduation rate among African American students in Kentucky,” said Thomas Woods-Tucker, KDE deputy commissioner and director of equity. “KDE is dedicated to bridging more gaps between student groups by helping districts use evidence-based strategies to increase equity. “
4-year graduation rate in 2021 broken down by student group
| Student groups1 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All the students | 89.7 | 90.3 | 90.6 | 91.1 | 90.0 |
| White | 91.2 | 91.9 | 92.1 | 92.8 | 91.4 |
| Afro-American | 81.6 | 82.0 | 83.2 | 83.3 | 83.7 |
| Hispanic or Latino | 84.2 | 83.1 | 84.1 | 84.4 | 83.4 |
| Asian | 92.8 | 95.0 | 94.1 | 94.3 | 95.1 |
| Native American or Alaska Native | 76.7 | 88.7 | 93.3 | 90.2 | 80.3 |
| Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander | 76.2 | 84.6 | 88.1 | 87.5 | 87.7 |
| Two or more races | 87.0 | 88.0 | 88.6 | 89.1 | 89.9 |
| English Learners Plus supervised | 77.1 | 78.2 | 76.6 | 76.2 | |
| Economically disadvantaged | 87.0 | 87.7 | 87.8 | 88.1 | 86.6 |
| Disability-With IEP (Total) | 74.4 | 74.8 | 75.5 | 78.0 | 77.9 |
1 Students can be identified for multiple groups of students.
All assessment score data, including score data broken down by test subject and student, can be viewed in the 2020-2021 Kentucky Report Card.
Opportunity to learn survey
All students in the tested classes participate in the school climate and safety quality survey, one form given to classes 3 to 5 and another form given to classes 6 in secondary school. An Opportunity to Learn survey has been added for the 2020-2021 school year, which contains seven survey items on each form. The survey was designed to capture students’ perceptions of their school situation during the 2020-2021 school year.
The results of the Opportunity to Learn survey show that despite the unfortunate circumstances created by COVID-19, most students viewed their virtual learning as a positive experience. Due to the extraordinary efforts of teachers and staff in the Kentucky District, overall Kentucky students have felt supported throughout the school year.
In one piece of inquiry, students were asked whether they agreed or disagreed with the statement: “When my school was closed due to COVID-19, I was able to work with my teacher. and my classmates online. Of the students who responded to the survey, 90.2% of elementary students, 80.5% of secondary students and 77.6% of secondary students said they agree or strongly agree. agree with the statement.
Question: “When my school building was closed due to COVID-19, I was able to work with my teacher and my classmates online. “
| Level | Participant response rate | Percentage strongly disagree | Percent of disagreement | Percent agree | Percent Strongly Agree | Percent agree / Strongly agree |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary school | 99.6 | 3.1 | 6.6 | 37.9 | 52.3 | 90.3 |
| Middle school | 99.8 | 6.7 | 12.8 | 51.7 | 28.8 | 80.5 |
| High school | 99.8 | 8.1 | 14.3 | 58.2 | 19.4 | 77.6 |
Another item in the survey asked students to agree or disagree with the statement: “My teachers were available when I needed help (e.g. through virtual office hours, e-mail). mail, a chat). Of the students who responded to the survey, 91.5% of elementary school students, 87.7% of middle school students and 84.1% of high school students said they agreed or strongly agreed. agree with the statement.
Question: “My teachers were available when I needed help (eg via virtual office hours, email, chat). “
| Level | Participant response rate | Percentage strongly disagree | Percent of disagreement | Percent agree | Percent Strongly Agree | Percent agree / Strongly agree |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary school | 99.5 | 1.8 | 6.6 | 44.6 | 46.9 | 91.5 |
| Middle school | 99.7 | 2.7 | 9.6 | 58.4 | 29.3 | 87.7 |
| High school | 99.7 | 4.3 | 11.5 | 64.4 | 19.7 | 84.2 |
Another item in the survey asked students to agree or disagree with the following statement: “My schoolwork has helped me learn new things this year.” Of the students who responded to the survey, 95.1% of primary students, 80% of secondary students and 61.8% of secondary students said they agree or strongly agree with the statement. ‘States.
Question: “My schoolwork has helped me learn new things this year. “
| Level | Participant response rate | Percentage strongly disagree | Percent of disagreement | Percent agree | Percent Strongly Agree | Percent agree / Strongly agree |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary school | 99.7 | 1.5 | 3.3 | 36.1 | 59.0 | 95.1 |
| Middle school | 99.8 | 6.6 | 13.4 | 54.9 | 25.1 | 80.0 |
| High school | 99.8 | 15.6 | 22.7 | 51.1 | 10.7 | 61.7 |
Elements of the School Climate Quality and Safety Survey, including all elements of the Learning Opportunities survey, can be found at Open day under the Learning Environment tab.
New to SRC
The Kentucky School Report Card also contains several new data sets.
The Advanced Courses section now includes participation rates for students enrolled in Advanced Placement (AP) courses. Currently, 27% of students take AP courses.
Another new feature of the report card allows datasets to be uploaded at the data level, as well as being located in one place on the dataset page.
The Transition to Adulthood section now includes information on the number of students who have moved from a Kentucky public school to a state post-secondary institution. This information can be found under the Transition to Post-Secondary Education in State tab.
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