State test scores released this week, first since 2019

The results from the Kentucky Summative Assessments, formerly known as K-PREP, were released on Oct. 18 by the Kentucky Department of Education, using a new color-coded system to judge a district’s status. Indicators include reading, math, science, social studies and writing scores, compiled from standardized testing done in the spring of 2022.

This is the first release of data since 2019, and a change from a star system to color-coding makes it difficult to compare last year’s scores to pre-pandemic years. The data includes school ratings, and federal accountability labels as well.

Kentucky Education Commissioner Jason Glass commented on the scores Monday. “There aren’t going to be any surprises in this data for those that have been working in schools who are already well-aware of the challenges that we have before us,” he said. There will be no quick fix, he added, saying it will take time and resources to return to pre-pandemic levels of learning.

Reading and math are assessed in grades 3-8, 10 and 11. Science is assessed in grades 4, 7 and 11. Social studies and writing are assessed in grades 5, 8 and 11.

The color-coded ratings are red, orange, yellow, green and blue. Red indicates very low, orange indicates low, yellow indicates medium, green indicates high and blue indicates very high. Muhlenberg County Public Schools had an overall rating of yellow.

In reading and math, Muhlenberg County schools rated yellow across all grade levels. Elementary school students rated yellow in science, social studies, and writing. The district’s middle and high schools rated orange in science, social studies and writing.

Muhlenberg South Middle School and Muhlenberg County High School were both identified as TSI, or Targeted Support and Improvement, schools. TSI is a a federally required school accountability label, and this label means least one group of students in the school is performing at the same level as those in the bottom 5%. The district reported this rating is in the area of students with disabilities.

“We truly believe that the KSA is a snapshot and not a complete representation of all the great things that are happening in Muhlenberg County Schools,” said district instructional supervisor Brian Lile in a press release from the district. “We will review that data, seeking areas of improvement, but understand that the end-of-the-year test does not fully measure the level of a child’s education.”

The district scored high marks in the “Quality of School Climate and Safety Survey” with both elementary and middle school students giving the district positive feedback, resulting in green ratings. The high school received a yellow rating in the survey.

This survey produced positive responses from students, in their assessment of schools staff and safety across the district. Nearly 94% of students responded that they strongly agree their school is a caring place. More than 95% of students responded that they strongly agree that adults from their school care about them.

When it comes to school safety, 93.6% of the students assessed said they strongly agree to the statement “I feel safe in my classes”.

“We, along with all districts in the state, anticipated that our scores would be lower than we would desire as the data highlights the challenges that have been present throughout the pandemic,” said Superintendent Contessa Orr in the district’s press release. “We are so excited about the opportunities for growth that lie ahead for our district as we focus on creating an engaging and safe learning environment for all of our students.”