{"id":4812,"date":"2019-01-31T19:38:08","date_gmt":"2019-01-31T19:38:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/prichard-backup.com\/July\/2019\/01\/31\/new-school-report-cards-big-upgrade-still-with-some-challenges\/"},"modified":"2022-09-27T19:49:07","modified_gmt":"2022-09-27T19:49:07","slug":"new-school-report-cards-big-upgrade-still-with-some-challenges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prichard-backup.com\/July\/new-school-report-cards-big-upgrade-still-with-some-challenges\/","title":{"rendered":"New School Report Cards: Big Upgrade, Still With Some Challenges"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row overlap=”top” overlap_distance=”25px” padding_size=”m-padding”][vc_column][vc_column_text el_class=”strategy4text2″ animation=”slideInRight”]Kentucky\u2019s new School Report Cards are here<\/a>! The new format for annual data on our schools has a friendlier layout and some important innovations, so I\u2019m going to share what I saw in my first tour of the site.<\/p>\n

When you arrive at the main landing page<\/a>, you can choose any public school or district: my notes are based on looking at Toliver Elementary and Danville High School. Once you choose, you can scroll down and start seeing the news.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”20px”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row overlap=”top” overlap_distance=”100px” overlap_index=”50″ equal_height=”true” vertical_align=”middle” padding_size=”m-padding” el_class=”row2″ css=”.vc_custom_1558665176081{margin-top: 25px !important;}”][vc_column overlap_index=”50″ padding_size=”no-padding” width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text el_class=”strategy4text2″ animation=”slideInDown” animation_delay=”.5″]<\/p>\n

Clear charts of key data points<\/span><\/h2>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”20px”][vc_column_text el_class=”strategy4text2″ animation=”slideInRight”]The main page is broken into five sections, each with a nice selection of charts showing important facts about each school. For example, here\u2019s how the\u00a0Overview\u00a0section shows who attends Toliver:[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”20px”][vc_column_text el_class=”strategy4text2″ animation=”slideInRight”]Notice that the chart on economically disadvantaged students says data on free and reduced lunch eligibility is not available? Good charts can highlight questions about our schools, and I definitely want to ask about the missing data for Toliver.\u00a0Further down the page, there are also short displays for\u00a0Academic Performance,\u00a0Educational Opportunity,\u00a0Transition Readiness,<\/strong><\/em> and\u00a0School Safety.<\/strong><\/em>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column overlap=”left” overlap_distance=”200″ overlap_index=”300″ width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image alignment=”center” image=”8165″ animation=”slideInRight” animation_delay=”0.8″ el_class=”shadowphoto”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row overlap=”top” overlap_distance=”100px” overlap_index=”50″ equal_height=”true” vertical_align=”middle” padding_size=”m-padding” css=”.vc_custom_1558666565439{margin-top: 25px !important;}”][vc_column overlap=”left” overlap_distance=”200″ overlap_index=”300″ width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text el_class=”strategy4text2″ animation=”slideInDown” animation_delay=”.5″]<\/p>\n

Quick links to more detailed data<\/strong><\/h2>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”20px”][vc_column_text el_class=”strategy4text2″ animation=”slideInRight”]Just to the right of each group of charts, there are three links to additional kinds of data. For example, for the Overview<\/strong><\/em> section, there\u2019s more about students, more about faculty, staff and community, and more about access to technology. For Academic Performance<\/strong><\/em>, there\u2019s more on assessment and performance, achievement gap and growth, and career and technical education.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column overlap_index=”50″ padding_size=”no-padding” width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text el_class=”strategy4text2″ animation=”slideInDown” animation_delay=”.5″]<\/p>\n

Easy-to-read tables of information<\/strong><\/h2>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”20px”][vc_column_text el_class=”strategy4text2″ animation=”slideInRight”]Here\u2019s how some of Toliver\u2019s reading results are displayed, much easier to read than the 17-column version of the older report cards:[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”20px”][vc_single_image alignment=”center” image=”8170″ animation=”slideInRight” animation_delay=”0.8″ el_class=”shadowphoto”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row overlap=”top” overlap_distance=”100px” overlap_index=”50″ equal_height=”true” vertical_align=”middle” padding_size=”m-padding” el_class=”row2″ css=”.vc_custom_1558665176081{margin-top: 25px !important;}”][vc_column overlap=”left” overlap_distance=”200″ overlap_index=”300″][vc_column_text el_class=”strategy4text2″ animation=”slideInDown” animation_delay=”.5″]<\/p>\n

Great disaggregated KPREP data, including the \u201cnot\u201d groups<\/span><\/h2>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”20px”][vc_column_text el_class=”strategy4text2″ animation=”slideInRight”]<\/p>\n

The previous report card format did not include KPREP results for students who are\u00a0not economically disadvantaged, do\u00a0not\u00a0have identified disabilities, and are\u00a0not\u00a0English learners. Those \u201cnot\u201d results are key to understanding the gaps between better-served and worst-served groups, so it\u2019s good to see them published again. The KPREP charts are also set up to show results for gifted students and for students who are and are not homeless, migrant, in foster care, or dependents of a member of the military. That information help us understand the strengths and experiences students bring with them and the effectiveness of school efforts to support each learner. (Sadly, the fully expanded list appears to be only for KPREP: data on KSCREEN, ACT, graduation, and other results are disaggregated much less.)<\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row overlap=”top” overlap_distance=”100px” overlap_index=”50″ equal_height=”true” vertical_align=”middle” padding_size=”m-padding” css=”.vc_custom_1558666565439{margin-top: 25px !important;}”][vc_column overlap=”left” overlap_distance=”200″ overlap_index=”300″][vc_column_text el_class=”strategy4text2″ animation=”slideInDown” animation_delay=”.5″]<\/p>\n

New looks at educational opportunity<\/strong><\/h2>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”20px”][vc_column_text el_class=”strategy4text2″ animation=”slideInRight”]To check out this sections, I switched over to Danville High School, looking at student\u00a0work toward college and career readiness. This was great new information. For career and technical education, I learned that 94 DHS students enrolled to learn about marketing, and 29 completed a multi-course marketing \u201ccareer pathway.\u201d 57 took the first step on Project Lead The Way Engineering, and six completed that pathway. For advanced coursework, 403 students took AP courses, 204 took AP tests, and 45% of the test-takers had at least one score that qualified them for college credit (quick multiplication: that\u2019s 108 students). There was plenty more to explore, including detail on visual and performing arts, health and physical education, and world languages.<\/p>\n

These most recent trends show Kentucky is moving toward a better-educated adult population, with good reason to expect that to add strength to our economy and richness to all aspects of our civic life. They also show that we need to continue and accelerate our growth in attainment, with particular attention to groups who are not sharing fully in that growth, including Black non-Hispanic students and students with low-incomes.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row overlap=”top” overlap_distance=”100px” overlap_index=”50″ equal_height=”true” vertical_align=”middle” padding_size=”m-padding” el_class=”row2″ css=”.vc_custom_1558665176081{margin-top: 25px !important;}”][vc_column overlap=”left” overlap_distance=”200″ overlap_index=”300″][vc_column_text el_class=”strategy4text2″ animation=”slideInDown” animation_delay=”.5″]<\/p>\n

Some Openings for Improvement<\/span><\/h2>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”20px”][vc_column_text el_class=”strategy4text2″ animation=”slideInRight”]While admiring the innovations just mentioned, I do want to note some places where I thought the design could be stronger:<\/p>\n