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Statewide School Data Released, FCPS a "Needs Improvement" District

LEXINGTON, Ky. - School testing data for all 174 public schools districts across were released Friday, representing a wide range of achievement scores under the new Unbridled Learning accountability model.

Fayette County Public Schools scored a 58.3 out of 100, putting in the 69th percentile of other public school districts in Kentucky.

“This year that there was a lot of apprehension with the new system. We really couldn’t even tell exactly where we were going to be and that’s very difficult. We were shooting at targets that were being developed as we were working on them,” says FCPS Superintendent Tom Shelton.

The Unbridled Learning accountability model is the product of state legislation passed in 2009 designed to implement more rigorous academic standards. It factors in standardized test scores, how well students perform who are minorities or qualify for free & reduced lunch, student growth from year to year, college & career readiness, and graduation rates.

Some of the public schools in Fayette County rank among the highest in the state: Veterans Park as the #5 elementary school and SCAPA as the #2 middle school in Kentucky. Some schools, however, are at the other end of the spectrum.             (CLICK HERE for a list of FCPS scores and percentile rankings. [PDF])

Shelton says parents shouldn't focus on comparing scores.

“Each school, what you should be looking at, is who are the people that are working with my child and what is their focus on.”

Staff at Booker T. Washington Academy is especially disappointed in its score, which was in the lowest 3 percent of Kentucky elementary schools. Principal Wendy Young says her school is challenged with meeting the needs of a large minority student population and English language learners.

“When you come into our school you see a lot of happy children that are learning at high levels. The test scores don’t reflect it, but we’re going to make a difference so we can show what we’re doing each and every day.”

As a district, Fayette County has an overall classification of “Needs Improvement.”  Shelton says each school in Fayette County will develop individual improvement plans.

More Data: CLICK HERE for a summary of all Kentucky scores [PDF]

  • Overall score is on a scale of 1-100
  • KY Rank is percentile ranking compared to other districts/elementary/middle/high schools.
  • Classification based on percentile ranking:

   Distinguished:  Top 10 percent (90-100th percentile)

   Proficient:Better than 70 percent of schools (70-89th percentile)

   Needs Improvement: 69th percentile or lower

  • Five additional school labels

   Schools of Distinction:  schools in top 5 percent of the state

   High-Performing Schools: schools at or above the 90th percentile

   High-Progress Schools: schools making the highest progress in state

   Priority Schools: schools in lowest 5 percent in the state that have not

   reached  improvement targets for 3 years (previously labeled as

   "persistently low achieving" under No Child Left Behind)

   Focus Schools: schools with low "gap" scores or low scores among

   individual student gap groups (by race, socio-economic status, special

    need, or English language learner)

Lexington native Brenna Angel anchored local morning newscasts for WUKY through May 13. She joined the station in March 2010 after previously working for WHAS-AM in Louisville.
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