The Clinton County School District as a whole was named a “distinguished” district following the release of the latest K-PREP accountability test scores, and local officials are extremely proud with the improvements made at the schools to make the distinction possible.

Instructional Supervisor Paula Little said the district made the distinguished category because it reached the threshold of the criteria it took to become distinguished and further is now listed as a “progressing” school district.

“We met the annual measurable objectives required and we are proud to be considered a distinguished as that puts us in a group of higher scoring districts in the state,” said Little.

Little said that all schools in Clinton County achieved a proficient rating, meaning all schools achieved at least at the expected level, with none lagging behind,” she said.

The district’s overall score was 70.5, which puts Clinton County in a reward category for a high performing district.

Clinton County joined the majority of schools in the state that showed improvement, including at the middle school level, which had the highest rate of improvement in Kentucky on the latest testing.

Some 77 percent of districts statewide scored in the distinguished category, while a little over 60 percent was in the proficient range and about 35 percent in the “needing assistance” category.

Little said the middle school grades in Clinton County, like the state, had the highest overall improvement from the previous year in student scores. “The (middle school) is also closing achievement gaps in terms of student progress,” she noted.

At the elementary school level, Little said test results show growth and improvement with Clinton students.

At Clinton County High School, again its strongest areas were in the graduation rate, which rose from previous years, and graduating students who are college and/or career ready. She also noted the high school had an increase in scores for the end-of-course area in U.S. History and the district is above state average in language mechanics.

Even with the improvement across the board as a district, Little noted there is always room for improvement at each level and in some specific course areas.

“There are always areas where improvement is needed,” Little added. Among those areas are on-demand writing and, at CCHS, English and biology. The middle school needs to continue improving in math scores.

Little also noted that beginning next year, the testing process will see changes, due to the new federal ESSA Act. The Every Student Succeeds Act will basically replace the current No Child Left Behind Act, and will allow each state to make changes in its testing procedures and what the test will actually look like.

“Each state has the opportunity to make changes in the accountability system,” Little said, noting there was already committee meetings being held to make changes, which she said would be in place by this time next year.

The Instructional Supervisor said overall, “I am extremely pleased with our distinguished rating this year. We want to commend all faculty, administration, staff, parents and especially students who worked hard. They did what it took to get us there, she concluded.

The Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence also issued a press release pertaining to the more promising test scores released last week, which showed improvement across Kentucky as a whole.

The press release noted that the 2016 statewide assessment and accountability results released last week show some exciting progress for Kentucky’s students toward college and career readiness–with mathematics proficiency showing particularly important growth.

Kentucky students have made strong progress in math achievement. The percentage of elementary students scoring at the proficient level in math increased by three percentage points, while the percentage of middle and high school students performing at this level increased by four percentage points. This is important progress to celebrate because Kentucky has long struggled with mathematics performance.

Even better, the strong mathematics improvement is fully shared by student groups traditionally behind their peers. Students with disabilities, students with low family incomes, African-American students, Hispanic students, and students of two or more races all saw mathematics proficiency increases of three percentage points or more.

Similarly, college and career readiness continues to increase. The readiness rate stands at 68.5 up from 66.9 in 2015. Nearly all that improvement came from growth in college readiness shown on the ACT and college placement exams.

One area of concern is that the 2016 results suggest that the statewide education effort, designed to lift students above the lowest performance level in reading and mathematics, has yet to realize positive results at scale. In reading, the percent of students scoring at the very lowest level actually increased for most student groups. This is an area we should pay close attention moving forward.

Now, five years into the implementation of higher standards that better align to the expectations of colleges and employers, it is clear Kentucky is on the right path. We celebrate the educators, parents, and community partners who have been working to set high expectations and help more students learn at high levels. It is now more important than ever that we maintain our momentum to increase achievement for all students and close achievement gaps for each student.

The Prichard Committee’s recent: “Excellence with Equity: It’s Everybody’s Business” report on the achievement gaps in our schools urges Kentucky to re-double its efforts to close gaps and ensure high levels of achievement for each and every student. Closing these gaps are more critical than ever given the increasing need for education and training after high school to ensure the future success of each individual student and the state’s economy and quality of life as a whole.

Additional 2016 bright spots included:

* More elementary students reaching proficiency in reading.

* More middle school students reaching proficiency in reading, social studies, and writing making middle school the most improved overall.

* More high school students reaching proficiency in social studies and language mechanics.

* More students completing high school, raising their four-year graduation rate from 88 to 88.6 percent.

Additional areas of concern included 2016 proficiency levels that were lower than 2015 rates for:

* Elementary students in social studies, writing and language mechanics.

* Middle school students in language mechanics.

* High school students in English 101, biology and writing.

(The Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence is an independent citizens’ advocacy group made up of volunteer parents and citizens from across Kentucky.)