I blogged a few days ago on the first results from the new, 2015 results for 12th grade students from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). That first blog focused on the low percentage of high school seniors that NAEP shows are really college ready in both reading and math (Just 37 percent). Today,…
This table ranks the average classroom teacher salaries in Kentucky’s 173 school districts. Of Note: the Jefferson County Public Schools teachers get even higher average pay than the enormously funded Anchorage Independent School District provides. Also of note is the enormous pay gap. While JCPS pays an average teacher $61,944, the tiny Augusta school system…
Richard Phelps is a long-time correspondent of mine and a real testing expert with a ton of experience. His new article for the Pioneer Institute does a great job of outlining the extreme bias in the way the Common Core story has been covered by the national media, and is well worth a read.
(Updated April 28, 2016) New 12th grade results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress for reading and math have just been released, and there isn’t any cheering going on. The cover web page summarizes the results this way: “In comparison to 2013, the national average mathematics score in 2015 for twelfth-grade students was lower…
I blogged twice last week (here and here) about a National Public Radio report that said Louisville’s schools were behind on funding as of 2013. That certainly doesn’t jibe with 2012-13 school funding data from the Kentucky Department of Education or the US Census Bureau, either. But, NPR is at it again, this time with…
I wrote two days ago about a local National Public Radio affiliate’s article on public school finances that seems to portray the per pupil funding for Kentucky’s largest public school district, the Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) in a questionable way. That first blog used enrollment and spending information from the US Census Bureau’s “Public…
I am dismayed. The works of William Shakespeare have endured – until now – as some of the most important in the English language. His impacts are seen everywhere. I can immediately recall, for example, the “unkindest cut” line appearing in a scene from the movie “Seabiscuit.” Shakespeare’s “We band of brothers” has been referenced…
At the outset, I want to make it clear that I think boosting the level of education in Kentucky can reap good economic benefits for the state. For one example, folks in Northern Kentucky tell that robotics-based manufacturers in this part of the state can’t find enough qualified workers. The situation is so serious that…
National Public Radio is starting a series on school funding across the US, and the local affiliate station in Louisville, WFPL, just ran an article titled “Louisville Is Behind The Curve In Public School Funding,” which draws some data from the nationwide series. But, is Louisville (actually the Jefferson County Public School District [JCPS]) really…
The Bluegrass Institute is saddened at the death of one of our commonwealth’s – and country’s – fallen heroes. Lowell D. Reese, a Kentucky native and founder of Kentucky Roll Call, a public-affairs publishing company in Frankfort, passed away on April 15. Reese, who fought for his country as a battalion commander on the…