Most Knox County schools are found to be “progressing”, according to 2013-2014 statewide accountability data released by the Kentucky Department of Education on October 3rd.
Jesse D. Lay Elementary was the sole school found to be proficient according to the released data, having increased their overall score from 68.5 in 2013 to 72 in 2014. Lay moved from the 66th percentile in 2013 to 80th in 2014.
Gains in four other Knox County elementary schools earned them the title of “High Progress School”. Central Elementary, Dewitt Elementary, Flat Lick Elementary, and Girdler Elementary met their AMO, or annual measurable objective, and student participation rate for the prior two years and have an improvement score indicating the schools are in the top 10 percent of improvement.
“We saw gains in various areas throughout the district and are pleased that at four schools the gains are among the highest statewide” stated Kelly Sprinkles, Superintendent of Schools.
Sprinkles stated that the most gains were seen in the areas of Arts and Humanities, Practical Living and Career Studies and Writing, which make up the Program Review component of Unbridled Learning. Those skills are embedded within all content areas in grades K-12.
As a district, Knox joins others in the “needs improvement” category after moving from the 4th percentile in 2013 to the 26th percentile in 2014. Districts and schools designated as “needs improvement” are those with scores below the 70th percentile in the state.
“We are closely looking at the programs and initiatives in place in Knox and analyzing their effectiveness,” Sprinkles said in regards to what the district is doing to improve student achievement.
Sprinkles stated that one of the most recent changes to curriculum that will have a direct impact on instruction is the teacher leader program that has been recently formed. Teacher leaders are content area specialists who will work throughout the year to review the district’s curriculum and assessments in CIITS, which is a statewide database of instructional resources, curriculum, formative assessments, and lesson/unit plans. The teacher leaders will review submitted materials for quality and share assessments that will be utilized by teachers throughout the district.
“We are certainly proud of the gains that were experienced last year, but our focus must be on how we move forward from here,” Sprinkles stated.
Unbridled Learning data for all Knox County schools can be found online through the School Report Card application on the Kentucky Department of Education website at: http://applications.education.ky.gov/SRC/Default.aspx.
Individual Unbridled Learning reports for each Knox County school can be found below:
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