Test Scores

Clark County Public Schools students showed a slight improvement overall on the winter Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) tests taken before Christmas break. The MAP tests, which are given three times a year to students in kindergarten through eighth grades, measure students' progress over the course of a school year and allow teachers and school administrators to adjust the curriculum as needed to target the areas of specific need for individual students in reading and math. “Most of the grades were pretty consistent from the fall to winter tests and that's what you want to see is that they are making progress,” Assistant Superintendent Pat Rosenthal said.

The release of statewide test scores Wednesday has given local districts a few reasons to celebrate but also shed light on areas where their schools can improve. The only local district to meet its target is Burgin Independent. Boyle, Danville, Garrard, Lincoln and Mercer didn't meet their overall proficiency goals for Adequate Yearly Progress, according to data from the Kentucky Department of Education. The federal No Child Left Behind Act calls for 100 percent proficiency in all tested areas by 2014.

With the next round of state testing just six months away, Clark County educators are making plans that they hope will raise scores and the school district's status in the federal No Child Left Behind program. The Kentucky Department of Education has formed an Assist and Support for School Improvement and Success Team, or ASSIST, to work with Clark County Public Schools this year. The four-member team of educators will meet with principals monthly, and two of its members will visit Clark County each week, said team leader Tara Isaacs at Tuesday's meeting of the Clark County Board of Education.

In June, Bate Middle School Principal Michael Godbey charged his teachers and staff to come up with new ways to challenge and engage students. For Vicky Ramey, Striving Readers coordinator, that meant seeing things in RED. Painting the Instruction RED is a new initiative by Bate to better engage students and improve their test scores. RED stands for Rigorous and Relevant, Engaging and Differentiated. Ramey couldn't remember where she heard the term, but said she saw RED as a way to achieve what Godbey was asking for. Though there won't be any measurable results until the end of the year, Ramey sees a difference in the way students are responding and interacting with their teachers.

The Clark County Board of Education heard reports from administrators at George Rogers Clark High School, Conkwright and Clark middle schools, the Clark/Bourbon Day Treatment Center and the Area Technology Center at a special meeting Tuesday night on what schools are doing to improve in the classroom. All of the administrators talked about their school's "target areas," or particular subjects and groups of students that need to see improvement in test scores. They also presented their school's goals for the coming year.

At its meeting Thursday the Boyle County Board of Education heard a report from LuAnne Littlefield about Boyle County's test scores. Test scores were released in September and Littlefield said that although there is room for improvement, Boyle County did well as a district on the Kentucky Core Content Test. Boyle County is tied with eight other districts for 20 out of 175 districts in the state, Superintendent Mike LaFavers said. Littlefield said the ranking is pretty good, though not as high as the district would like.

As a parent of two children at Hogsett Elementary School and as a parent of a recent Danville High School graduate, I encourage everyone to re-elect Lonnie Harp to the Danville school board.   In the last few years that Lonnie has served, every school in the district has seen improved test scores. Lonnie worked hard to implement a Spanish speaking program for our elementary-age school children that I feel has helped increase test scores in their English classes and will also help them achieve a college ready diploma in high school.

BURGIN ? While the state requires only a 2 percent contingency, Burgin Board of Education is boasting a whopping 12 percent. The news was received Wednesday night as the board got its yearly audit report back. The contingency fund is money set aside in case the district has unplanned expenses, not included in the regular budget. The audit showed that the district is financially stable, and that district officials need to remain vigilant about how money is being spent. Also at the meeting Principal Marty Collier reported the test scores to the board.

Dear Editor: And the winner is ... the coaches and athletic boosters. Yes folks, by losing Dr. Pam Rogers, Boyle County academics will take a back seat now to the special interest groups representing athletics. What is most disheartening is all of the progress that has been made in improving test scores will be pushed aside for more important school functions like sports and buying equipment. Hooray! The days of qualified teachers and a long-term vision that the staff has bought into, and more importantly supports, is gone!

Aug. 21,1983 County Judge-Executive James B. Allen recently proclaimed Aug. 22-26 "School Personnel Week" in Clark County and recognized the contributions of all school personnel in the high ranking of Clark County students in 1982-83 test scores. Two Clark County residents were winners in Kentucky State Fair 4-H events in Louisville. Edith Graybill showed the subnovice A winner at the 4-H dog show. Scott Van Sickle swept the Hampshire category in 4-H sheep competition. His entries were named grand champion ewe, reserve champion ewe and grand champion ram. Members of the Kentucky Rivers Cloggers from Ford will perform Saturday, Aug. 27 at 7:30 p.m. at the Bluegrass Campgrounds in Madison County, near Interstate 75. Chenelle Hatton is director of the group.

George Rogers Clark High School's 10th grade ACT PLAN test scores are the highest in school history for 2012-13, and Principal David Bolen said it's proof the school is “going in the right direction.” According to scores released by the state, GRC's composite score of 17.5 is above both the state and national averages. In individual categories, sophomores scored higher than the state and national average in English, reading and science. The 2012 results continue a steady rise in proficiency since the PLAN was first administered in 2006 (see graph on A3)

As a parent of two children at Hogsett Elementary School and as a parent of a recent Danville High School graduate, I encourage everyone to re-elect Lonnie Harp to the Danville school board.   In the last few years that Lonnie has served, every school in the district has seen improved test scores. Lonnie worked hard to implement a Spanish speaking program for our elementary-age school children that I feel has helped increase test scores in their English classes and will also help them achieve a college ready diploma in high school.

Perryville Elementary School fourth-graders gained an up-close-and-personal experience in science Friday at the Central Kentucky Wildlife Refuge.  “It's a hands-on experience. Some students don't get to go out of their neighborhoods,” said Catherine Logue, a Perryville Elementary science teacher. She said the trip allows students to understand there is a resource that is free and close by.  When the environmental camp first was started, students were taken to Carlisle for an overnight trip.

Education really does pay and some George Rogers Clark High School students are proof. More than 100 current GRC seniors and 2012 graduates last week were awarded for their hard work in some of the school's toughest classes. The students shared $19,800 from the National Math-Science Initiative (NMSI) for their high scores on last year's end of course Advanced Placement tests in English math and science. Combined, the students recorded qualifying scores of 3 or 4 on 198 AP tests in the three subjects.

When the first test scores from the new Kentucky Performance Rating for Educational Progress (K-PREP) tests are released this week, they are expected to show lower short-term proficiency rates than seen previously on the Kentucky Core Content Tests (KCCT). Senate Bill 1, passed by legislators in 2009, did away with the former Commonwealth Accountability Testing System (CATS), which was based on student proficiency, and replaced it with the new Unbridled Learning assessment and accountability system that focuses on college and career readiness and success after high school.

West student gets perfect ACT score Kareem H. Omar, son of Hatim and Youlia Omar and a junior at West Jessamine High School, earned a top composite score of 36 on a recent ACT test, not missing any questions in any subject. Nationally, while the actual number of students earning a composite score of 36 varies from year to year, roughly one-10th of 1 percent receive a top score. Among test-takers in the high-school graduating class of 2011, only 704 of more than 1.6 million students earned a composite score of 36. The ACT consists of tests in English, mathematics, reading and science.

Clark County Public Schools students showed a slight improvement overall on the winter Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) tests taken before Christmas break. The MAP tests, which are given three times a year to students in kindergarten through eighth grades, measure students' progress over the course of a school year and allow teachers and school administrators to adjust the curriculum as needed to target the areas of specific need for individual students in reading and math. “Most of the grades were pretty consistent from the fall to winter tests and that's what you want to see is that they are making progress,” Assistant Superintendent Pat Rosenthal said.

Trapp kindergarten student Kasaundra Withrow, right photo, was all smiles eating her cupcake during the Trapp Elementary School Kentucky Core Content test party held last week at the school. The students were recognized for their test scores and treated with cupcakes. Students scoring distinguished on the test were, from left, top photo, Jaylen Homan, Ricky Sweet Caitlin Bowling, Sierra Griggs, Carrie Cockerham, James Lin, Dylan Jones, Rachel Puckett, Betty Ann Pergram and Principal Steve Jenkins.

There wasn't  a lot of good news in the summary of student performance on standardized testing that District Assessment Coordinator Anthony Beeler presented to the Lincoln County School Board last week, but among the high points were two preschool classes that are clearly doing something right. Waynesburg Elementary's Mae Farmer and Fort Logan's Christalynn Hubble's classes were clearly high end outliers on the Early Childhood 2010- 2011 Outcomes Report that records the test scores for four-year-olds in the county that participated in either the preschool or Head Start programs.

HARRODSBURG ? For now, Mercer County students will have to stick to school buses when being transported to events. During a special meeting Thursday, the Mercer County Board of Education didn't approve nine-passenger vehicle driver requirements. The motion failed on a 2-2 vote. If passed, students could have been transported to events in vans, saving the district from paying bus driver fees. A driver of one of the vans would have to go through driver training. Superintendent Chuck Hamilton said the requirements the district put in place are more strict then the requirements put in place by the Kentucky Department of Education.