Press conference for release of new BIPPS report on achievement gaps in Louisville’s schools
The Bluegrass Institute released “Blacks Continue Falling Through Gaps: The 2016 Update” on Monday. Here’s the video of the press conference.
School choice in Kentucky’s largest school district? Not so much, really
Check out these comments about “school choice” availability in the Jefferson County Public School District (JCPS): “The current choice system is far from perfect. Many families don’t get their first choice, and about 20% don’t get either first or second choice. Family logistics and the student assignment plan mean that many families must choose based…
Confusing bill would destroy common state assessments in Kentucky
A very strange bill is actually working its way through the legislature. It has already cleared the Kentucky House and currently is in the Kentucky Senate’s Education Committee. House Bill 92 could allow a waiver or modification of the statewide assessment system for schools participating in a district of innovation plan. The bill would also…
Jefferson County Schools’ potential misdirection of millions in state funding coming under scrutiny
WDRB in Louisville broke a major story yesterday, raising questions about how money supplied by the state legislature for what was supposed to be a reading support program in Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) got diverted to pay nurses’ salaries instead. At issue: possible misappropriation of state funds Reaction from the new administration in Frankfort…
Too much ‘politics’ in some Kentucky legislators’ ‘understanding’ of the state’s actual education performance
This past week has provided a number of disturbing examples recently that a number of state lawmakers legislators don’t have a good grasp on the data about Kentucky’s public school performance. The real picture is certainly different from what some pols would have us believe. House Education Chairman Derrick Graham, D-Frankfort, sounded off in a…
Are new Common Core tests providing inflated results?
A number of new state tests have come on line in the past four years as a result of adoption of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Several being used in more than one state include the ACT Aspire tests, the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) tests, and the Smarter…
Kentucky’s high school graduation rates are misleading
Too many graduates not ready for college or careers Too many not proficient in Algebra II even though it’s supposedly a graduation requirement Too many poorly informed people in Kentucky are crowing about the state’s very large high school graduation rate numbers. Either a lot of folks, including legislators who work on education, just don’t…
Senate Bill 1: Squabbles are on
The most sweeping education reform bill since the 2010 advent of the Common Core State Standards in Kentucky is now under consideration as Senate Bill 1 from the 2016 Regular Legislative Session (SB-1/2016). This 90 plus-page bill (including amendments) impacts a host of important areas, including: • Changing the way Kentucky’s education standards and assessments…
Fordham’s new report on Common Core draws quick, compelling criticism
Fallout: Does Common Core really get students ready for college and careers? It’s no secret: the Fordham Institute has weighed in heavily in favor of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) over the past six years. Unfortunately, critics charge with increasing justification that Fordham seems to be straying from objective and useful research into something…
Will Kentucky’s Districts of Innovation program get a black eye?
During efforts to fend off a true charter school bill a few years ago, legislative friends of adults running Kentucky’s traditional schools passed the Districts of Innovation bill, which supposedly allow traditional school districts in the state to do many of the same things that work well around the country in charter schools. But the…