After I started posting comments on the new ACT score release yesterday, I was engaged by an anonymous reader with an obvious bias against charter schools. That individual also seems to be having a lot of trouble getting his or her facts straight. That happens in this blog from time to time, and we do…
We always get questions about how Kentucky’s education system compares to the rest of the nation. Often, that isn’t such a simple question to answer well. However, here are some comparisons of the percentages of white and black high school graduates that scored above the college readiness benchmarks in all four ACT tested areas in…
Not many This graph, which I developed from data in the Kentucky Department of Education’s news release 11-067 about the 2011 ACT scores, tells the tale (click on it to enlarge). Note that I only include years where Kentucky conducted 100 percent testing of all graduates. Also, keep in mind that the benchmarks are developed…
The Bluegrass Institute is always being asked if we have any idea how private school students in Kentucky perform academically. The answer is, yes, we do have some information. And, that information just got a new update. And, it shows that private and home school students in Kentucky are doing a really good job. The…
The new ACT results are out, and I already posted a blog earlier today with the news that Kentucky did edge up slightly in ranking among those states where ACT testing is essentially universal. But, a really big story concerns how Kentucky stacked up against hurricane-racked schools in Louisiana. Louisiana rebuilt its post-Katrina school system…
Data released today shows Kentucky’s performance improved slightly in ACT college entrance test results for the high school graduating class of 2011. It’s an encouraging sign that Kentucky’s schools are finally changing focus to preparing students for college and careers instead of preparing for meaningless CATS assessments. At a press conference today in Nicholasville, Kentucky…
Next month, the Obama Administration will begin granting waivers to states that are not on track to meet proficiency requirements in the No Child Left Behind Act. Education Secretary Arne Duncan will be granting these waivers selectively, based mostly on states’ willingness to abide by new executive branch mandates not included in NCLB, likely including…
And, they learned about it in a timely manner, too WNYC in New York City reports that the charter schools in the Big Apple outperformed regular public schools, once again – mostly in math this time – in the past school term even as the State of New York increased the rigor of its assessment…
It’s really rather humorous. Back on July 30, 2011, the country’s two main teachers unions and a group called Save Our Schools (SOS) held a rally in Washington, DC to push back against badly needed pressure being put on schools across the nation to improve their performance. The SOS group expected a 5,000 to 10,000…
WAVE-3.com reports that when school starts up again in Jefferson County schools on August 15th, some students will still face excessively long bus rides – over an hour one way – even though all kids there live much closer to a suitable school. By the close of last year’s school term, those long hours on…