(FRANKFORT, Ky.) -- Results from the 2002-2004 accountability cycle of the Commonwealth Accountability Testing System (CATS) show that more than half of the state's public schools met or exceeded their individual goals and fewer than 50 are in the assistance categories.
Scores from the April 2004 administration of the Kentucky Core Content Test (KCCT) and the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills (CTBS) and the school accountability performance judgments based on the 2003 and 2004 results were released today. Non-academic data, which also is a component of school and district accountability indices, was released in August.
"Each grade level has registered gains since CATS was fully implemented in 2000," said Kentucky Education Commissioner Gene Wilhoit. "This year's gains are especially encouraging in basic core subject areas, such as reading, mathematics and science.
"I'm very pleased with our elementary schools' performance, particularly in the area of science. Overall, science scores have gone up almost six points since 2002, and schools are moving their students from the lower performance levels to higher ones -- more than half of our elementary students scored at the proficient or distinguished levels in science."
Student performance is categorized with four levels: novice, apprentice, proficient and distinguished. At the elementary level, science scores show the lowest percentage of novices (6.94 percent). At the middle school and high school levels, reading scores show the lowest percentages of novices (8.31 and 14.40 percent, respectively).
"Although the performance of high schools continues to cause concern, they are making some progress," Wilhoit said. "In fact, overall, high schools gained in each subject area from the 2002 cycle to the 2004 cycle -- from half a point to nearly 8 points.
"There are some other areas of concern," Wilhoit said. "While we are pleased that less than ten percent of our schools will receive some form of assistance, many schools are in the progressing area. This means they must achieve greater growth in the next two years to stay on goal.
There are three main performance judgment categories for schools and districts: Meets Goal, Progressing and Assistance. Those three are divided into subcategories.
PERFORMANCE JUDGMENT TOTALS
2002
Assistance:
Level 1: 28
Level 2: 31
Level 3: 29
Total: 88
Progressing:
Decline, Dropout, Novice: 0
Decline, Dropout: 0
Decline, Novice: 67
Dropout, Novice: 23
Decline: 2
Dropout: 14
Novice: 263
Progressing: 139
Total: 508
Meets Goal:
Dropout: 11
Novice: 19
Meets Goal: 556
Total: 586
2004
Assistance:
Level 1: 16
Level 2: 16
Level 3: 16
Total: 48
Progressing:
Decline, Dropout, Novice: 1
Decline, Dropout: 0
Decline, Novice: 38
Dropout, Novice: 10
Decline: 9
Dropout: 3
Novice: 108
Progressing: 198
Total: 467
Meets Goal:
Dropout: 1
Novice: 10
Meets Goal: 650
Total: 661
Schools must meet dropout rate and novice reduction requirements. The dropout rate requirements are that a school must have an average dropout rate of less than 5.3 percent over the biennium or an average rate that is at least one-half of one percent lower than its average rate of the previous biennium.
The novice reduction requirements are that a school must reduce its percentage of novices so that, by 2014, it has only five percent of its students in the novice category.
Schools are expected to have accountability indices of 100 (on a 140-point scale) by the year 2014. During this cycle, 23 schools have reached or exceeded 100 on their 2002-04 combined indices.
100 AND OVER - DISTRICT, SCHOOL AND 2002-04 COMBINED ACCOUNTABILITY INDEX
Anchorage Ind., Anchorage Elementary: 106.2
Clay Co., Hacker Elementary: 101.3
Daviess Co., Deer Park Elementary: 111.5
Daviess Co., East View Elementary: 100.4
Daviess Co., Highland Elementary: 110.5
Daviess Co., Philpot Elementary: 100.3
Daviess Co., Tamarack Elementary: 102.6
Daviess Co., Utica Elementary: 106.1
Daviess Co., West Louisville Elementary: 109.7
Fayette Co., Maxwell Elementary: 100.4
Fayette Co., SCAPA at Bluegrass Elementary: 100.0
Fayette Co., Veterans Park Elementary: 106.4
Ft. Thomas Ind., Johnson Elementary: 101.6
Graves Co., Farmington Elementary: 101.2
Jefferson Co., duPont Manual High: 101.6
Jefferson Co., Louisville Male High: 100.5
Johnson Co., Central Elementary: 111.8
Ohio Co., Southern Elementary: 110.0
Oldham Co., Centerfield Elementary: 100.2
Oldham Co., Goshen at Hillcrest Elementary: 103.3
Oldham Co., Liberty Elementary: 103.7
Oldham Co., North Oldham Middle: 100.2
Rockcastle Co., Brodhead Elementary: 104.0
Recognition Points
Schools also are honored for reaching recognition points. When a school's accountability index passes 55, 66, 77, 88 and 100, it will receive a one-time recognition and a flag that is color-coded to the level passed.
NUMBER OF SCHOOLS PASSING EACH RECOGNITION POINT FROM THE 2002 CYCLE TO THE 2004 CYCLE
Recognition Levels
Levels Passed
Level 1 (55) -- 15
Level 2 (66) -- 185
Level 3 (77) -- 243
Level 4 (88) -- 88
Level 5 (100) -- 16
Grand Total 547
510 schools passed one recognition level, and 37 schools passed two levels.
Pace Setter Schools
Pace Setter schools are the highest-scoring five percent of all schools that have reached the fourth recognition point (88) and met the dropout rate and novice reduction requirements. Fifty-seven schools are Pace Setters for this accountability cycle, with indices ranging from 92.6 to 111.8.
Anchorage Ind. -- Anchorage Elementary
Ashland Ind. -- Hager Elementary, Poage Elementary
Boone Co. -- Kelly Elementary
Bowling Green Ind. -- Potter Gray Elementary, T.C. Cherry Elementary, W.R. McNeill Elementary
Clark Co. -- Providence Elementary
Clay Co. -- Hacker Elementary, Oneida Elementary
Daviess Co. -- Audubon Elementary, Burns Elementary, Country Heights Elementary, Deer Park Elementary, East View Elementary, Highland Elementary, Philpot Elementary, Sorgho Elementary, Tamarack Elementary, Utica Elementary, West Louisville Elementary, Whitesville Elementary
Fayette Co. -- Maxwell Elementary, Morton Middle, Veterans Park Elementary
Ft. Thomas Ind. -- Highlands High, Highlands Middle, Woodfill Elementary
Glasgow Ind. -- Happy Valley Elementary
Graves Co. -- Cuba Elementary, Farmington Elementary
Hancock Co. -- Hancock County Middle
Hopkins Co. -- Hanson Elementary
Jefferson Co. -- duPont Manual High, Greathouse Shryock Traditional Elementary, Hite Elementary, Louisville Male Traditional High, Schaffner Traditional Elementary
Johnson Co. -- Central Elementary, Flat Gap Elementary, Meade Memorial Elementary
Magoffin Co. -- Middle Fork Elementary
Marion Co. -- West Marion Elementary
Morgan Co. -- Ezel Elementary
Ohio Co. -- Southern Elementary
Oldham Co. -- Buckner Elementary, Centerfield Elementary, Liberty Elementary, Oldham County Middle
Paintsville Ind. -- Paintsville Elementary
Pike Co. -- George F. Johnson Elementary, Phelps Elementary
Rockcastle Co. -- Brodhead Elementary, Roundstone Elementary
Russell Co. -- Jamestown Elementary, Salem Elementary
Walton-Verona Ind. -- Walton-Verona Elementary
District Accountability
Under CATS, school districts also are held accountable for the performance of their students. School districts are not formally designated under the same classifications as schools, but this year, specific accountability requirements for districts begin. Some districts may be classified as follows:
- Exemplary Growth District -- all schools in the districts are classified as "Progressing" or "Meets Goal" and have met the dropout and novice reduction criteria established for schools.
- Audit Level 1 District -- one or more schools in the district are classified as "Assistance Level 3" and were not classified as "Assistance Level 3" in the previous accountability cycle. The district will modify its comprehensive plan to include support for those Level 3 schools.
- Audit Level 2 District -- at least one school in the district has been classified as "Assistance Level 3" for two or more consecutive accountability cycles. A district evaluation team will conduct an audit of the school's curriculum and instruction to ensure that support for Level 3 schools is implemented.
SCHOOL DISTRICT CLASSIFICATIONS
2002
Exemplary Growth - 22
Audit Level 1 - n/a
Audit Level 2 - n/a
No classification - 154