Last Updated on Saturday, November 05, 2011 at 10:01 PM
Has Kentucky made progress in P-12 education over the past two decades? See information about the state's forward momentum here.
See information related to state-mandated academic assessments below.
How does Kentucky stack up against the nation? Find details on tests and rankings below.
State-Mandated Assessment and Accountability
Senate Bill 1, legislation passed in the 2009 session of the Kentucky General Assembly, dismantled the Commonwealth Accountability Testing System (CATS) and directed the Kentucky Department of Education to develop a new system of assessment and accountability. The new system will be implemented in the 2011-12 school year, but the results of the Kentucky Core Content Tests (KCCT – the state assessments that were part of CATS) are still valid and reliable and may be used to highlight progress.
Summary
With few exceptions, the percentage of Kentucky Core Content Test (KCCT) novice learners at all school levels has decreased, and the combined percentages of proficient and distinguished students has increased each year since CATS' inception in 1999.
Because of changes to the testing and accountability system in 2006, comparisons between prior years and the 2007 through 2011 data are invalid.
Since 2007, the percentages of students performing at the highest levels in nearly all subject areas has increased.
|
PERCENTAGE OF ELEMENTARY STUDENTS SCORING AT PROFICIENT/DISTINGUISHED LEVELS |
|
2007 |
2011 |
|
Reading |
72.74% |
76.00% |
|
Mathematics |
61.53% |
72.76% |
|
Science |
66.15% |
70.53% |
|
Social Studies |
61.57% |
59.75% |
|
Writing On-Demand |
53.34% |
59.74% |
|
PERCENTAGE OF MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS SCORING AT PROFICIENT/DISTINGUISHED LEVELS |
|
2007 |
2011 |
|
Reading |
66.32% |
69.90% |
|
Mathematics |
51.85% |
65.11% |
|
Science |
55.95% |
64.04% |
|
Social Studies |
52.64% |
60.09% |
|
Writing On-Demand |
41.92% |
45.22% |
|
PERCENTAGE OF HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS SCORING AT PROFICIENT/DISTINGUISHED LEVELS |
|
2007 |
2011 |
|
Reading |
60.15% |
65.91% |
|
Mathematics |
39.30% |
45.98% |
|
Science |
41.65% |
41.37% |
|
Social Studies |
43.74% |
41.49% |
|
Writing On-Demand |
19.79% |
40.89% |
For more information about CATS and KCCT scores, please see the Interim Performance Reports here.
National Rankings - Kentucky
When rankings of states in the area of public education are discussed, Kentucky is often noted as being ranked near the bottom overall. That is misleading.
While there is no single overall rankings of states in P-12 education, there are rankings based on a number of specific variables. For example, the Center for Business and Economic Research (CBER) at the University of Kentucky ranks states based on an education index that includes variables such as National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) scores, ACT composite scores and dropout rates. Based on CBER’s analysis, Kentucky ranked 33rd among states in July 2011.
(Please note that the rankings below do not reflect current year data, but rather the most recent year available. Information for these rankings was gathered from the National Education Association and the National Center for Education Statistics.)
NEA National Rankings - Kentucky (2009-10)
- Number of public school students: 27th
- Number of public school teachers: 28th
- Pupil-teacher ratio: 14th highest
- Per-pupil expenditures: tied with Alaska for 32nd
- Average teacher salary: 27th
- Percentage of public school revenues from local sources: 40th
- Percentage of public school revenues from state sources: 15th
- Percentage of public school revenues from federal sources: 7th
- Per-capita spending on P-12 education: 45th [based on 2007-08 figures]
NCES National Rankings – Kentucky
- Percentage of high school dropouts: tied for 12th lowest of 50 states and the District of Columbia (2007-08 – national average: 4.1%; Kentucky average: 2.8%)
- Percentage of freshmen who graduate from high school: 17th lowest of 50 states and the District of Columbia (2007-08 – national average: 74.9%; Kentucky average: 74.1%)
- Percentage of student ethnicity: (2008-09)
- Native American: 49th
- Asian/Pacific Islander: 47th
- Black/African American: 25th
- Hispanic: 42nd
- White: 6th
- Percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price meals: 11th (2008-09)
- Percentage of Title I schools: 25th (2009-10)
- Percentage of Title I schools with schoolwide services: 10th (2009-10)
- Percentage of teachers who hold master's degrees: 7th (2007-08)
NAEP
The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is also known as "The Nation's Report Card." NAEP has been conducting assessments since 1969. NAEP's 2011 reading and math assessments showed that Kentucky's 4th graders have made progress since 1998 in those subjects.
|
AVERAGE NAEP SCALE SCORES – 4TH-GRADE READING |
|
Year |
Kentucky |
Nation |
|
1998 |
218 |
213 |
|
2002 |
219 |
217 |
|
2003 |
219 |
216 |
|
2005 |
220 |
217 |
|
2007 |
222 |
220 |
|
2009 |
226 |
220 |
|
2011 |
225 |
220 |
|
AVERAGE NAEP SCALE SCORES – 4TH-GRADE MATH |
|
Year |
Kentucky |
Nation |
|
2000 |
221 |
226 |
|
2003 |
229 |
234 |
|
2005 |
231 |
237 |
|
2007 |
235 |
239 |
|
2009 |
239 |
239 |
|
2011 |
241 |
240 |
Kentucky 8th graders also have made progress.
|
AVERAGE NAEP SCALE SCORES – 8TH-GRADE READING |
|
Year |
Kentucky |
Nation |
|
1998 |
262 |
261 |
|
2002 |
265 |
263 |
|
2003 |
266 |
261 |
|
2005 |
264 |
260 |
|
2007 |
262 |
261 |
|
2009 |
267 |
262 |
|
2011 |
269 |
264 |
|
AVERAGE NAEP SCALE SCORES – 8TH-GRADE MATH |
|
Year |
Kentucky |
Nation |
|
2000 |
272 |
274 |
|
2003 |
274 |
276 |
|
2005 |
274 |
278 |
|
2007 |
279 |
280 |
|
2009 |
279 |
282 |
|
2011 |
282 |
283 |
NAEP also assesses science, with the most recent administration in 2009. That year, Kentucky's 4th graders' average score of 161 was 12 points above the national average. Kentucky 8th graders scored an average of 156 in science, seven points above the national average.
In 2009, the percentage of 4th-grade students in Kentucky who performed at or above Proficient on NAEP’s science assessment was 45 percent, which was greater than that for the nation's public schools on average (32 percent).
In 2009, the percentage of 8th-grade students in Kentucky who performed at or above Proficient on NAEP’s science assessment was 34 percent, which was greater than that for the nation's public schools on average (29 percent).
NAEP assessments follow the subject area frameworks developed by the National Assessment Governing Board and use the latest advances in assessment methodology. NAEP assessments include multiple-choice and constructed-response questions. NAEP does not report scores for individual students or schools.
NAEP bases its results on a sample of students and provides data at the state and national level. States and districts receiving Title I funds are required to participate in state NAEP in reading and mathematics at grades 4 and 8 every two years. State participation in other state NAEP subjects (science and writing) remains voluntary.
To learn more about Kentucky's progress, visit the State Profile for Kentucky on the National Center for Education Statistics website.
Education Week - "Quality Counts"
For its 15th annual “Quality Counts” report in 2011, Education Week looked at the financial health of states. The full report may be seen on Education Week’s website at http://www.edweek.org.
This edition focuses on how states are coping with smaller P-12 education budgets, the effect of federal stimulus dollars and the forecast for the future. The 2011 edition provides ratings in five areas:
- the overall score, which includes data from the areas reported in 2010 and 2011
- K-12 Achievement
- Transitions and Alignment
- School Finance
- the Chance for Success Index
States received letter and numerical grades (on a scale of 0-100) in the five categories. Because Education Week has changed the way it reports states’ standings and the items upon which states are graded, it is not possible to directly compare data from this year’s edition to prior-year data.
|
KENTUCKY |
KENTUCKY’S RANK NATIONWIDE |
NATION |
|
Overall Score |
C (75.2) |
34 |
C (no numerical grade noted |
|
K-12 Achievement |
C- (69.7) |
19 |
D+ (68.7) |
|
Transitions and Alignment |
B- (82.1) |
14 |
C+ (78.3) |
|
School Finance |
C- (71.0) |
35 |
C (75.3) |
|
Chance for Success |
C (74.6) |
38 |
C+ (78.3) |
ACT Scores – Public School Graduates
Kentucky/National Averages
2011: 19.2/21.1
2010: 19.0/21.0
2009: 19.1/21.1
NOTE: 2009 was the first year for which data was reported for Kentucky public school students only. The national data for 2009 through 2011 includes both public and nonpublic school students.
ACT Scores – All High School Graduates
Kentucky/National Averages
2008: 20.9/21.1
2007: 20.7/21.2
2006: 20.6/21.1
2005: 20.4/20.3
2004: 20.3/20.9
2003: 20.2/20.8
2002: 20.0/20.8
2001: 20.1/21.0
2000: 20.1/21.0
1999: 20.1/21.0
1998: 20.2/21.0
1997: 20.1/21.0
1996: 20.1/20.9
1995: 20.1/20.8
1994: 20.1/20.8
1993: 20.1/20.7
1992: 20.0/20.6
1991: 20.0/20.6
1990: 19.9/20.6
SAT Scores
|
SAT I CRITICAL READING |
SAT I MATH |
SAT I WRITING |
PARTICIPATION RATE |
|
2011 |
578 |
580 |
563 |
4% |
|
2010 |
578 |
585 |
563 |
4% |
|
2009 |
575 |
581 |
560 |
4% |
|
2008 |
566 |
573 |
550 |
6% |
|
2007 |
562 |
566 |
547 |
7% |
A very small percentage of Kentucky public school students take the SAT I -- only 4 percent of graduating public school seniors participated in the test in 2011.
Advanced Placement Data
The number of Kentucky public high school students taking Advanced Placement (AP) examinations and scoring at high levels continues to rise. Since 2007, the number of Kentucky public high school students taking AP examinations has risen by nearly 44 percent. The number of tests scored at 3, 4 or 5 has increased by about 75 percent.
|
Number of AP Test-Takers |
Number of Tests |
Number of Scores 3-5 |
|
2011 |
23,547 |
37,977 |
17,404 |
|
2010 |
19,604 |
31,742 |
14,837 |
|
2009 |
16,958 |
27,129 |
13,178 |
|
2008 |
14,664 |
23,280 |
10,925 |
|
2007 |
13,208 |
20,742 |
9,889 |