2009
2011
critical for improving students ’ academic performance . Determining whether students were meeting them was the focus of the assessment and accountability system created to measure student performance in math , language arts , science , social studies , arts and humanities , and practical living / vocational studies . Although the standards were set at the state level , local schools and districts determined how and what students would be taught . The same remains true today .
As is frequently the case with major change , the implementation of KERA faced its share of challenges , and many of them centered on the assessment and accountability system that at the time was called the Kentucky Instructional Results Information System ( KIRIS ). Although test scores showed improvement between 1993 and 1998 , the concerns of educators , researchers and policymakers about the value and effectiveness of KIRIS in improving student performance led the 1998 General Assembly to direct the creation of an improved system , the Commonwealth Accountability Testing System or CATS , that retained strong accountability elements .
2009
Also based on standards , CATS remained in place for more than a decade before being superseded by a system based on higher academic standards mandated by the 2009 General Assembly . As the state ’ s legislators focused on accelerating student learning through higher standards , Kentucky joined 47 other states in an effort organized by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers to develop standards that could be used in adopting states across the nation . State leaders , teachers , parents , school administrators , education experts and
academics provided input into the development of the standards . At a historic joint meeting in February 2010 , Kentucky ’ s three key educational governing boards – the Kentucky Board of Education , the Council on Postsecondary Education and the Education Professional Standards Board – adopted the standards in mathematics and English language arts with public statements of support coming from many quarters , including from legislators representing both political parties .
The new standards prompted the development of a new assessment and accountability system that has been in place in Kentucky schools since 2012 . Again , with change of such magnitude comes challenges , and the accountability system has been criticized as being complex and of questionable value in improving students ’ academic performance . The state ’ s new education commissioner , who was named to the position in September 2015 , has described the system as “ a work in progress ” that will be streamlined in 2016-2017 .
The state ’ s academic standards also are undergoing revisions following an online review process in 2015 that attracted comments from 4,500 people ( the majority of them educators ). Content-matter specialists are reviewing suggested changes and proposed revisions will be released for public comment before final consideration by the Kentucky Board of Education .
Kentucky has made measurable progress in education since undertaking its ambitious reforms , although much remains to be achieved .
2011
In 2011 , a study by the University of Kentucky ’ s Center for Business and Economic Research concluded that the state ’ s rank-
A Citizen ’ s Guide to Kentucky Education — June 2016 4