On Wednesday, Sept. 26, the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) made the 2017-2018 student assessment results publicly available. Schools administer the Kentucky Performance Rating for Educational Progress (K-PREP) test to all students in grades 3 through 8. Developed by Kentucky educators, the assessment is designed to align with the Kentucky Academic Standards in each content area.
According to KDE, Kentucky is in the process of phasing in a new accountability system and, under this new system, determinations will be based on student performance on state assessments and other school quality indicators or measures, such as growth or graduation rate, depending on the grade level. Additionally, per Senate Bill 1 (2017), “the new accountability system does not provide a single summative score that ranks schools against each other.”
According to Daviess County Public Schools Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning Jana Beth Francis, this is an interim year for the new accountability system in state testing and “the whole system is not even up and running yet.”
While there have been several changes implemented for the 2017-18 testing year, Francis said there are parts of the system that will remain constant, such as the proficient and distinguished ratings for students. Francis was referring to the four categories for student performance on the K-PREP assessment (from low to high): novice, apprentice, proficient and distinguished, based on a cut score range.
CSI, TSI and Other – New school designations for 2017-2018
Using this new accountability system, schools will now be identified as Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI), Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI) or Other (neither CSI or TSI). Additionally, there will no longer be an overall score, but instead, a 5-star rating system will take effect for the 2018-2019 school year.
A CSI rating identifies a school as performing in the bottom five percent of schools at their level in the state of Kentucky.
When analyzing the data for Owensboro Public Schools and DCPS, it should be noted that neither district had any schools identified as CSI schools.
A TSI rating is used to identify a school that has one particular student group of 10 or more students performing in the bottom 5 percent. These groups might include qualifiers such as ethnicity, English learners, students receiving free/reduced meals and students with disabilities requiring an individual education plan.
Interim Commissioner of Education Wayne Lewis said being identified for Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI) will allow schools to focus on raising achievement for groups of students who have been underserved, and may have previously been hidden by overall school achievement data. And while KDE will provide resources for TSI-designated schools to improve, ultimately the responsibility lies in the schools and districts to use the accountability standards to gauge student progress.
OPS and DCPS Scores and ratings
Two Owensboro Public Schools, Owensboro High and Owensboro Middle North, were identified for Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI), as a result of having at least one student group perform in the bottom 5 percent statewide.
“Although there are always some areas in which we can improve, I think it is important to note that none of our elementary schools received this designation [TSI], showing a positive trend for student success in years to come,” said Dr. Nick Brake, Superintendent of Owensboro Public Schools. “The number of ‘novice’ grades achieved is down in nearly every discipline across elementary schools and across the board in middle schools. In fact, there is significant improvement at the middle school level.”
Daviess County Public Schools had six schools identified with TSI groups: Country Heights Elementary, Deer Park Elementary, Meadow Lands Elementary, Burns Middle, College View Middle and Apollo High School.
“DCPS schools are scoring well above KDE cut scores. We are blessed to live in a community where we have great schools for our kids to attend and receive a very good education,” said DCPS Superintendent Matt Robbins. “Certainly there are variances in scores from school to school and each will take current assessment data and work diligently to implement interventions and other strategies to best impact student achievement.”
Click for part I and part II of the DCPS score reports and here for OPS.
Individual school accountability is also based on three indicators per grade level. Elementary and middle schools use Proficiency, Separate Academic Indicator and Growth. High schools use Proficiency, Transition Readiness and Graduation Rate.
Lewis said the results reinforce the KDE’s current efforts to address lagging student achievement in critical subject areas like reading and mathematics. For example, proposed graduation requirements would require students to demonstrate basic competency on 10th grade reading and mathematics assessments in order to earn a diploma.
Anticipating further changes to take effect, educators and administrators in both school districts are still working to analyze the released data and how the new rating distinctions will carry over into planning and instruction for the 2018-2019 school year.
