By Tony McVeigh
Frankfort, KY – Kentucky schools, especially middle and high schools, will have to hustle to meet their 2014 proficiency goals. An analysis of accountability test scores for the last four years indicates 60 percent of elementary schools will meet their goals, but only 39 percent of middle schools and six percent of high schools will. Ronda Harmon of the Kentucky Association of School Councils says there's obviously much work to be done.
"And we feel like our transition index really helps this, too. It keeps more attention on how schools are doing. We have so many people who want to compare their local schools to the surrounding schools and that attention helps schools to get better."
The Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence and the Council for Better Education also participated in the analysis. Under provisions of Senate Bill One, which lawmakers approved last year, schools will begin using a shorter, clearer testing system in the spring of 2012. It replaces the Commonwealth Accountability Testing System, or CATS.