BOYLE COUNTY STUDENTS CONTINUE TO PERFORM AT HIGH LEVELS

DANVILLE, KENTUCKY—SEPTEMBER 26, 2018—The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) released its 2017 - 2018 report on public schools today, and Boyle County students outpaced their peers in academic performance and college- and career-readiness.

Boyle County Schools (BCS) continues to be a top-performing district, receiving high marks for Kentucky Performance Rating for Educational Progress (K-PREP), ACT and other state-required exam scores; high school graduation rates; and student readiness for life after high school.       

“By all accounts, last year was as good of a year as we’ve ever had,” stated Superintendent Mike LaFavers. He noted, “I can’t say enough about the determination of our students, teachers and administrators to drive improvement during a year when they could have been so easily distracted. In a year where we were faced with safety planning, pension reform, budget cuts and new accountability measures—we worked really hard to stay focused on our kids’ academic growth. And it shows.”

2017 - 2018 Boyle County Schools academic highlights include:  

• Boyle County students performed at high levels across all academic indicators. The district averaged a reading and math Proficiency score of 88.3—20.8 points higher than the state average of 67.5. Separate Academic Indicators measuring science, social studies and writing averaged 82.8, compared to the state average of 65.8. Perryville Elementary School received a reading and math Proficiency score of 96.5, the highest among Boyle County schools.

• For the second straight year, Boyle County High School’s (BCHS) average composite ACT score reached 22. Kentucky’s average ACT score is 19.3. In addition, 41 students—19% of the senior class—scored an average composite score of 28 or higher. Nationally, only 10% of test takers score a 28 or above on the ACT.   

• More students than ever are participating and succeeding in Advanced Placement (AP) Courses. A component of the state’s Transition Readiness indicator, BCHS offered 19 AP courses. Students took 340 AP exams, up from 329 exams the previous year, with a pass rate of 64%.

This year marks a transition period for the state accountability and assessment model, as Kentucky moves away from the Unbridled Learning system towards a newly redesigned model aligned with the federal Every Student Succeeds Act and state Senate Bill 1.

“Transitioning to a new accountability model is always a little challenging,” commented David Young, assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction. “This year’s data looks somewhat different—there are no overall district scores or rankings and you can’t necessarily compare all of the data to previous years.”

Young continued, “But what has remained constant is our approach to personalized learning. Our goal is to maximize every child's potential, no matter which student group he or she is a member of. Every day our teachers are monitoring student performance and making instructional changes to meet students right where they are. That’s the key to our success.”

Superintendent LaFavers added, “There is a lot of data to review, but it all adds up to the fact that we are focused on equipping our students with the skills they need to be successful after graduation—to help them discover their unique potential and set them on a path towards reaching their goals after high school.”    

DISTRICT STATE ACCOUNTABILITY RESULTS

For the 2017 – 2018 year, districts and schools were evaluated across six indicators: Proficiency, Separate Academic Indicator, Growth, Graduation Rate and Transition Readiness. In addition, schools were identified with designations of Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI) – those with one or more low-performing groups – and Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) – those in the bottom 5 percent by level. All other schools are designated as “other.” No Boyle County schools were identified as TSI or CSI.

Boyle County Schools state accountability data is available for review in its entirety at openhouse.education.ky.gov/Data. Answers to frequently asked questions concerning Kentucky’s new school accountability system are available here.

PROFICIENCY

The Proficiency indicator measures reading and mathematical performance on K-PREP (elementary and middle schools) and the ACT (high schools). Scores are calculated on a scale from zero to 125.

SEPARATE ACADEMIC INDICATOR

The Separate Academic Indicator measures performance on state-required science, social studies and writing assessments. Scores are calculated on a scale from zero to 125. High schools do not receive a Separate Academic Indicator score.

GROWTH

Growth is a projection of student improvement toward the goal of proficiency and beyond. Scores are calculated on a scale from -150 to 150. High schools do not receive a Growth score.

GRADUATION RATE

Graduation Rate measures the percentage of students who enter high school and receive a diploma.

TRANSITION READINESS

Transition Readiness measures student attainment of the knowledge and skills needed to successfully transition to life after high school.

SCHOOL STATE ACCOUNTABILITY RESULTS

Each school was assessed on the same six indicators, including reading and math Proficiency; Separate Academic Indicators measuring performance on science, social studies and writing assessments; and Growth as a projection of student improvement toward the goal of proficiency and beyond.

Note: State averages are listed in parenthesis.

PERCENTAGES OF STUDENTS SCORING NOVICE, APPRENTICE, PROFICIENT AND DISTINGUISHED

Students are identified as novice, apprentice, proficient or distinguished based on their performance on K-PREP (grades 3 through 8) and the junior ACT.

Note: State averages are listed in parenthesis.

BOYLE COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL

BOYLE COUNTY MIDDLE SCHOOL

JUNCTION CITY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

PERRYVILLE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

 WOODLAWN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL