Kentucky Department of Education

For its 14th annual “Quality Counts” report, Education Week looked at the move to common core standards nationwide.

The 2010 edition focused on common standards, particularly, the Common Core Standards initiative. With that focus, “Quality Counts” implemented a new measurement of states’ effectiveness – the Math Progress Index, which is designed to show how states are preparing students for the next levels of mathematics and whether they have improved over the past decade.

The 2010 edition provided ratings in five areas:

• the Math Progress Index
• Standards, Assessments and Accountability
• the Teaching Profession
• School Finance
• the Chance for Success Index

States received letter and numerical grades (on a scale of 0-100) in four categories. For the Math Progress Index, states received only numerical grades.

Education Week has moved to a biennial rating system, meaning that not every item is updated each year. In 2009, Kentucky’s standings in the Chance for Success Index (C; 74.3) and in School Finance (C-; 72.3) were slightly higher than in 2010.

Math Progress Index

The Math Progress Index includes three subcategories: Performance; Improvement; and Opportunity. Those categories take into account state performance on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP); achievement gaps; Advanced Placement scores; algebra course-taking; teacher expertise; and teacher experience, among others.

Kentucky’s rank among states in the Math Progress Index was 19th. The five highest-ranking states on that index were Massachusetts, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey and Minnesota.

Kentucky gained ground in the percentage increase of high scores on AP Mathematics from 2000 to 2008, with a 114% increase (tied for eighth-highest). The state did not fare well in the percentage of 8th graders who scored proficient or above on NAEP mathematics testing.

Standards, Assessments and Accountability

The Standards, Assessments and Accountability category looked at whether states have standards that are grade- and course-specific; availability of resources and guides for standards; types of assessments; vertical equation of scores in grades 3-8; accountability; and more.

Kentucky’s rank among states in the Standards, Assessments and Accountability category was 41st. The five highest-ranking states in that category were West Virginia, Indiana, Louisiana, Ohio and Florida.

Kentucky did not compare well to other states in the area of standards that are course- or grade specific, only receiving credit for those in middle and high schools. The state also performed poorly vertical equating and benchmark assessments.

Teaching Profession

The Teaching Profession category contained three subcategories: Accountability for Quality; Incentives and Allocation; and Building and Supporting Capacity. Within those categories, states were scored on teacher licensure requirements, evaluations, data systems, pay parity, incentives, working conditions and more.

Kentucky’s rank among states in the Teaching Profession category was 15th. The five highest-ranking states were South Carolina, Arkansas, Louisiana, Florida and Maryland.

Kentucky did well in the areas of bans on out-of-field teaching, teacher clinical experience, formal evaluations and teacher-preparation accountability. The state did not fare well in the areas of matching of teacher-student records by course/subject and state assessment results or in rewarding teachers for student achievement.

School Finance

The School Finance category had two subcategories: Equity and Spending. Variables taken into account included per-pupil spending, a state’s wealth-neutrality score and percent of taxable resources spend on education.

Kentucky’s rank among states in the School Finance category was 33rd. The five highest-ranking states were Wyoming, New Jersey, Rhode Island, New York and Connecticut.

Kentucky lost ground in this category due to low per-pupil expenditures (only 12 states had lower average amounts, and Kentucky’s average was more than $1,500 less than the national average) and in the percentage of students in districts at which the per-pupil expenditure is at or above the U.S. average (only seven states had lower percentages, and Kentucky’s average of 8.1% compares unfavorably with the national average of 40.5%).

The full report is available online at http://www.edweek.org.

"Technology Counts"

The 12th annual “Technology Counts” report from Education Week looked at states’ education technology programs and provided narratives on particular items of interest. The issue also “graded” states based on their P-12 technology systems.

The theme of the 2009 issue was online learning and the expansion of that to all students, not just the high-achievers or those in wealthy areas.

“Technology Counts” graded states in two main areas:

• Use of Technology; i.e., student standards for technology, virtual schools (Kentucky’s grade was an A-.)
• Capacity to Use Technology; i.e., teacher standards for technology, technology coursework requirements (Kentucky’s grade was an A.)

States’ access to technology also was graded, although the data used was outdated, giving Kentucky a B.

States also got an overall grade and ranking. Kentucky’s overall grade was a B+, and the state ranked 5th nationwide.

In 2008, Kentucky’s overall grade was a B+, placing it 3rd in the nation (tied with three other states).

The full report is available online at http://www.edweek.org.