As school officials begin parsing Wednesday’s release of the 2020-21 K-PREP assessment and ACT scores, the Trigg County schools have a comprehensive plan in place to fully analyze strengths and weaknesses within its walls.
Karen Solise, director of curriculum and instruction, notes it all begins directly after Fall Break — when the district will take a “Growth Day” for certified-only staff October 11 and spend time digressing through the data. During this time, principals and teachers — who’ve had this embargoed data for some time — will begin the assessment surrounding a litany of questions: what kids scored at what levels, which individual students need help, the state of affairs within the classrooms…before beginning evaluation and course correction for any possible negative trends in learning.
Then, on October 28, the Trigg County Board of Education will host a dual-meeting with site-based decision-making groups — in an effort to convey the state’s assessments, discuss any collective findings from October 11 discussions, and then unilaterally determining where the district needs to go.
In what is annually a large sea of numbers and calculations, Solise said she could immediately glean some good news, and some areas that need improvement.
She said English and writing skills across the district mostly met state benchmarks this past year, with no less than 38 percent of the elementary, middle and high school populations each grading PROFICIENT or higher in written assessments.
Mathematics and reading percentiles, however, weren’t ideal as compared to Kentucky. According to ACT scores, Trigg County students averaged 16.8 in mathematics — with the state median at 17.7 — and only 21.5 percent of 11th graders had met the state’s benchmarks in the subject (compared to 29.9 percent of 11th graders statewide). More than 35 percent of elementary and middle school students scored a proficient or better in reading assessment, but only 33.4 percent of 128 high schoolers achieved such.
An obvious deterrent for education and mental growth over the last 18 months has been the constant change surrounding COVID-19 and its required protocols. The impacts of virtual learning will long be a case study across the world, but Solise mentioned that the district’s 2020-21 numbers mostly hovered near state averages — but did overall trend lower than expected.
Most importantly, while the state’s annual release of testing data can sometimes serve as an indictment of teaching efforts, at-home instruction and everything in between, Solise noted the district’s teachers have been diligent in service, and this is also a time in which all four roofs of the Trigg County umbrella can recalibrate.
For more information and overall data, visit kyschoolreportcard.com and search “Trigg County.”
TRIGG COUNTY
FULL DIAGNOSTICS
School Count: 4
Students: 1,908
Grades: Preschool-12th Grade
Economically Disadvantaged: 60.4% (those income-eligible for free and reduced-price meals)
Demographic Makeup: 81.4% White Non-Hispanic, 7.5% Multi-racial, 6.9%, African American, 4.2% Other
READING (grades 3-8 and 10th participate in state reading assessments)
Elementary School
36.3% of 375 students were NOVICE
26.1% of 375 students were APPRENTICE
26.4% of 375 students were PROFICIENT
11.2% of 375 students were DISTINGUISHED
Middle School
32.2% of 454 students were NOVICE
23.8% of 454 students were APPRENTICE
26.9% of 454 students were PROFICIENT
17.2% of 454 students were DISTINGUISHED
High School
38.3% of 128 students were NOVICE
27.3% of 128 students were APPRENTICE
21.9% of 128 students were PROFICIENT
12.5% of 128 students were DISTINGUISHED
MATHEMATICS (grades 3-8 and 10th participate in state mathematics assessments)
Elementary School
35.5% of 375 students were NOVICE
40.8% of 375 students were APPRENTICE
19.7% of 375 students were PROFICIENT
4.0% of 375 students were DISTINGUISHED
Middle School
35.2% of 454 students were NOVICE
46.0% of 454 students were APPRENTICE
12.6% of 454 students were PROFICIENT
6.2% of 454 students were DISTINGUISHED
High School
31.3% of 128 students were NOVICE
35.9% of 128 students were APPRENTICE
28.1% of 128 students were PROFICIENT
4.7% of 128 students were DISTINGUISHED
SCIENCE (grades 4th, 7th, 11th participate in state science assessments)
Elementary School
16.0% of 119 students were NOVICE
51.3% of 119 students were APPRENTICE
28.6% of 119 students were PROFICIENT
4.2% of 119 students were DISTINGUISHED
Middle School
30.3% of 145 students were NOVICE
46.9% of 145 students were APPRENTICE
19.3% of 145 students were PROFICIENT
3.4% of 145 students were DISTINGUISHED
High School
N/A
(According to the state’s dashboard, more than 40.7% of the 150 students were not assessed in science.)
WRITING (grades 5th, 8th and 11th participate in the state writing assessments)
Elementary School
13.6% of 132 students were NOVICE
48.5% of 132 students were APPRENTICE
27.3% of 132 students were PROFICIENT
10.6% of 132 students were DISTINGUISHED
Middle School
18.4% of 163 students were NOVICE
36.8% of 163 students were APPRENTICE
20.9% of 163 students were PROFICIENT
23.9% of 163 students were DISTINGUISHED
High School
14.6% of 89 students were NOVICE
32.6% of 89 students were APPRENTICE
46.1% of 89 students were PROFICIENT
6.7% of 89 students were DISTINGUISHED
Average ACT Scores
English: 16.5 (KY: 17.1)
Reading: 18.0 (KY: 18.5)
Mathematics: 16.8 (KY: 17.7)
Science: 18.2 (KY: 18.3)
Total: 17.5 (KY: 18), Female: 18.3, Male: 16.9, Economically-Disadvantage: 16.6
Benchmark Populations For High School
English: 40.7% (KY: 42.3%)
Reading: 39.3% (KY: 39.9%)
Math: 21.5% (KY: 29.9%)
