ASHLAND —
It surely comes as no surprise to area residents that Russell and Ashland are the top two school districts in northeastern Kentucky based on the results of the new statewide tests.
Among the nine area school districts, only the Russell Independent, the Ashland Independent, Carter County and Greenup County schools systems were above the state averag for college and career readiness.
Even the best schools in the state exhibited much room for improvement on how well they are preparing graduates for success after high school. For example, Russell’s rank of 92 signifies its scores are higher than all but eight percent of Kentucky school districts. Schools whose rank is above 70 percent are considered proficient, and Ashland was the only other area district to achieve that level with 77.
While Russell can boast of being one of the best public school districts in Kentucky based on its test scores, the same scores also show that 35 percent — or more than one out of every three students — are still graduating from Russell High School unprepared for college work or for entry into the workforce. While that’s much better than the statewide average of 47.2 percent, it still is unacceptably high.
While a majority of area schools showed graduation rates higher than the state average, one wonders just how important valuable a high school diploma is if graduates still can’t do what is expected of them in college or in a job.
The data is based on accountability test scores from the 2011-2012 school year; students were tested in reading, mathematics, science, social studies and writing under a new system that will be used for both state and federal accountability requirements. The new system emphasizes college and career readiness and is based on newer and tougher academic expectations.
Kentucky is the first state to test students under the new and rigorous common core standards that are on their way to becoming educational benchmarks nationwide, said Russell Superintendent Susan Compton. “We’re laying a foundation and this is the first step,” she said.
Parents should not be overly concerned that scores are almost certain to be lower in math and language arts, according to Compton. Partly that is because scores are based on a scale of 0 to 100 instead of 0 to 140.
All the data is available on the education department’s web site, but in a week or so, parents will see the individual scores of their children and that is where they should look closely. Then they can talk to school counselors to discuss the results.
Also important under the new system is working toward improvement in all students, Russell chief academic officer Debbie Finley said. That is particularly true in a district like Russell, with many high-achieving students. “We have to look at each student because even the high-performing ones are expected to show growth,” she said.
There is no question that Russell and Ashland are both excellent school systems, but the real message from the first round of testing is that even the best schools have much room for improvement.
The goal should not be to compare schools with each other, but with every school showing continual improvement based on its own test results. For example, the class of 2013 at Elliott County High School may not be able to compete with the graduating class at Russell High, but it should be better than the class of 2012 at Elliott County. In fact, getting better and better should be the goal of every school from the worst to the best.
We dream of the day when the vast majority of graduates of all area high schools are ready for successs in college or in the workplace. We’re still far from achieving that, but that is what we should expect off all high school graduates.
Opinion
The first results
Scores indicate just how much state's schools need to improve
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On the increase
It’s certainly good news that a new report by Kentucky’s Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet has found the economic impact of tourism grew by 5.2 percent in eastern Kentucky in 2012, outpacing the overall statewide growth rate. However, we would be more excited bout the report if we had more confidence in how tourism spending is calculated by state government.
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After the crash
Like thousands of other Kentuckians, we remember well May 14, 1988, when a drunken driver traveling the wrong way on Interstate 71 near Carrollton struck a church bus returning home to Radcliff after day at King’s Island, causing one of he most deadly vehicle accidents in this nation’s history. The horrific crash killed 27, many of them teenagers, and injured 34 others.
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High price tage
Much has been said and written about the rapid and dramatic decline of air passenger service at the Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky International Airport. Much less has been said and written about the tremendous economic impact the loss of air service has had on the entire region.
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Return of pencils
It is a question asked by all of us whose lives and jobs are dependent on computers with email and Internet access, fax machines, cellphones and other other electronic essentials of this modern age: What do you do when the electronic devices fail?
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Banned
If you live in Boyd and Lawrence counties and are thinking of burning trash, wood, leaves or other debris outdoors, here’s a word of advice: Don’t even think about lighting that match. If you do, it could cost you dearly.
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In Your View
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Few citations
When the 2011 Kentucky General Assembly approved a bill banning texting while driving and cellphone use for drivers younger than 18, there was widespread public support for both restrictions.
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Booming times
Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergran Grimes has launched a statewide tour to gauge public support for allowing more voters to cast their ballots before Election Day. While other states have enacted laws to allow early voting, the biggest obstacle to the proposal in Kentucky is the state’s history of widespread voter fraud.
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Step backward
We agree with Larry Brown, the lone member of the Ashland Board of City Commissioners to oppose a motion requesting City Attorney Richard “Sonny” Martin to draft an ordinance changing the time for all commission meetings to noon
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