Moving Ahead
Kentucky continues to make significant progress in education, the
result of forward-thinking policymakers and the commitment and
hard work of education professionals, parents, students, advocates and
community and business leaders. But clearly, we still have far to go.
While the state must remain attentive to all aspects of education
to ensure excellence, some focus areas have emerged that warrant
greater attention in the near future:
• Career and technical education
• Closing achievement gaps between groups of students
• Teacher and administrator effectiveness
• Alternative paths to graduation that lead to postsecondary success in college and career
Appropriate support for and emphasis on these critical areas would
equip Kentucky to build on its foundation of progress to create an
education system that spurs individual success for Kentuckians and
workforce quality and economic prosperity for the state as a whole.
Sources: The Kentucky Encyclopedia, 1993; “Nepotism common in Kentucky,” Kentucky New Era, February 7, 1989; Mobilizing
Citizens for Better Schools, Robert F. Sexton, Teachers College Press, 2004; Harvard Family Research Project, May 2000; Gaining
Ground: Had Work and High Expectations for Kentucky Schools, Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence, 1999; UK Center
for Business and Economic Research Issue Briefs, July 2011 and January 2016; Report of the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce
Task Force on Postsecondary Education, December 4, 2007; A Status Report on Kentucky’s Postsecondary Education System,
National Center for Higher Education Management Systems, February 3, 2015; Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education,
Data and Reports; The Kentucky Community and Technical College System: The Rise of a Premier Public Two-Year System,
National Center for Higher Education Management Systems, October 2014; History of KIDS NOW, Governor’s Office of Early Childhood, 2016.
9
A Citizen’s Guide to Kentucky Education — June 2016