Following the release of the 2023-2024 accountability and assessment data by the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE), officials with Daviess County and Owensboro Public Schools highlighted both achievements and areas for continued improvement.
The KDE data, part of the state’s accountability system, evaluates school performance based on both academic achievement and school quality indicators.
This year’s release marks the second full implementation of Kentucky’s revised accountability system, which incorporates both “status” (a school’s current performance on state indicators) and “change” (how performance has shifted compared to the previous year). The system assigns schools and districts color-coded ratings, with blue being the highest and red the lowest, allowing stakeholders to gauge progress at a glance.
For those interested in a deeper look at the school-by-school data for every indicator, KDE will release the 2023-2024 assessment and accountability in a phased approach. The information is initially available in datasets in Open House. Due to a vendor change, a new School Report Card dashboard will be available later this year. The dashboard highlights key topic areas and performance indicators at the school, district, and state levels.
DCPS officials said they use multiple data sources from assessments to help drive their instruction and response to students’ academic needs.
According to DCPS, the percentage of students scoring proficient or higher in reading increased at the elementary and high school levels. In mathematics, the percentage of students scoring proficient or higher held or increased at all levels.
DCPS Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning Jana Beth Francis expressed pride in the hard work of students, teachers, and families, but also underscored the district’s commitment to continuous improvement.
“Daviess County Public Schools will strive to achieve excellence through a focus on learning together about how to be more responsive to students’ needs so all students are successful,” she said.
Francis also explained that DCPS uses multiple data sources in addition to the Kentucky State Assessments (KSA) to drive instruction and target academic interventions. This approach, she said, allows the district to tailor educational strategies to meet the diverse needs of students and to ensure that all learners are on a path to success.
Superintendent Charles Broughton echoed this sentiment, noting that while DCPS has made progress in several areas, there is still work to be done to meet the district’s high expectations. “Our expectation is for each school to continually improve, with a focus on students achieving proficient or distinguished results in multiple assessed areas,” Broughton said. “While we have seen improvement, we acknowledge that there is still work to be done for accountability status to reflect the exceptional education experience we strive to provide daily, while preparing students for success beyond high school.”
OPS Public Information Officer Jared Revlett pointed to substantial improvements in several key areas. He said the district saw a 5% increase in the number of elementary school students scoring proficient in reading and a 4% rise in elementary students scoring distinguished in math. At the middle school level, 41% of students scored proficient or distinguished in combined reading, a 14% increase from last year.
Revlett expressed optimism about the district’s trajectory, particularly in light of the gains made despite the lingering challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We are seeing the return of some of the learning loss following the pandemic and have implemented new curriculum in a number of subjects that we’re excited to see how that impacts our growth this year,” Revlett said.
He also highlighted the district’s success in postsecondary readiness — with Owensboro High School ranking among the highest in the state — and its efforts to support its growing population of English Learners.
“We also saw great improvement among our English Learners this year, a population that has continued to grow in our community, and we are proud of the progress we have made serving our students.”
