Knox County Public Schools is celebrating academic growth and student achievement following the Kentucky Department of Education’s (KDE) public release of assessment and accountability data for the 2025–2026 school year on Thursday, October 15.
Two Knox County elementary schools, Jesse D. Lay Elementary and Girdler Elementary, earned the highest overall accountability rating, represented by the blue performance level. Four additional schools—Central Elementary, Dewitt Elementary, GR Hampton Elementary, and Knox County Middle School earned a green rating.
The district ranked No. 25 among Kentucky’s 172 districts in combined elementary performance, placing Knox County in the top 15% statewide.
Kentucky uses a color-coded accountability dashboard with five performance levels: blue, green, yellow, orange and red, ranked from highest to lowest.
“We are proud of the progress our students and schools have made, particularly in elementary reading, mathematics, and science, as well as our continued growth in graduation rates and postsecondary readiness. These accomplishments reflect the dedication of our teachers, principals, staff, families, and, most importantly, our students,” said Superintendent Jeremy Ledford.
Knox County Public Schools demonstrated growth in several key academic areas, with elementary students performing above state averages in reading, mathematics and science.
District highlights include:
- Elementary reading: Increased 2%, performing 8% above the state average.
- Elementary mathematics: Increased 4%, performing 12% above the state average.
- Elementary science: Increased 10%, performing 12% above the state average.
- High school reading: Increased 1%.
- Postsecondary readiness: Increased 3.5%, reaching 1.7% above the state average.
- Four-year graduation rate: Increased 2.2%.
Postsecondary readiness data also reflect the district’s continued focus on preparing students for success beyond high school. Among the reported data, 45.9% of students participated in dual credit opportunities. In career pathways, success is measured by either industry certification (offered in several pathways) or passing an end-of-program assessment. In 2025-2026, 21.3% earned an industry certification, and 34.3% passed an end-of-program assessment, becoming postsecondary ready.
According to KDE, reading results improved statewide, while results in other subjects were mixed. Fewer schools earned the highest overall accountability ratings. This was reflected in the data for Knox County.
“While we celebrate this progress, we also recognize that we have more work to do. Our expectations remain high, and we will continue to focus on helping every student grow academically, reach their full potential, and be prepared for success beyond the classroom,” said Ledford.
KDE cited a decline in overall ratings to lower Change scores, which measure improvement from the previous year, while Status scores remained relatively similar. This means that although current performance levels were generally comparable to the prior year, less year-over-year improvement contributed to lower overall ratings for some schools. In Knox County, this was evident for most schools, except the two blue ratings. As a district, Knox County’s overall performance ratings are green at elementary and yellow at middle and high school.
Knox County Public Schools is proud of the accomplishments reflected in this year’s data, particularly the performance of its students moving from apprentice to proficient, and proficient to distinguished, and the recognition earned by schools across the district. These results provide an opportunity to celebrate progress while continuing to identify areas for growth and improvement.
“We believe in our students, we believe in our schools, and we will continue working together to ensure Knox County Public Schools becomes one of the top-performing districts in Kentucky,” said Ledford.
It is important to note that overall composite scores may still increase as final data cleanup continues following the public release. Some students may ultimately be determined not to meet the criteria for inclusion in Knox County’s accountability data.
Families will receive a copy of their child’s performance on the 2025-2026 assessments in each tested content area. Students take reading and mathematics assessments annually in grades 3 through 8, and in grade 10. Social studies, editing and mechanics, and on-demand writing were assessed in grades 5, 8 and 11. Science was assessed in grades 4, 7 and 11.
Complete assessment and accountability data for Knox County Public Schools can be found on the Kentucky School Report Card.