Improvement in College and Career Readiness

In 2011, I challenged all superintendents and school board chairs to sign the Commonwealth Commitment to College and Career Readiness. Prior to this, Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE) President Bob King had gotten the support of every public and private postsecondary president to also sign the commitment.

We had similar success in that all 174 superintendents and board chairs signed the commitment. We then began publishing the percentage of Kentucky graduates who met the CPE benchmarks for college/career readiness (CCR) with the class of 2010. The first report showed 34 percent of Kentucky graduates met the CCR benchmarks.

Fast-forward to the most recent release of CCR rates, and we find more than 47 percent of graduates met the CCR benchmarks. This is remarkable progress and means a lot to graduates and their families. 

The average size for a graduating public school class in Kentucky is estimated at 42,000. Using this estimate, we had 14,280 graduates who met CCR benchmarks in 2010, and we had 19,740 graduates meet CCR benchmarks in 2012. This means over 5,400 more students graduated ready to enter credit-bearing courses at any of our postsecondary programs or enter careers that pay a living wage. This represents a huge savings for students and families of over $5 million that they will not have to pay for remediation and developmental courses that do not give college credit.

This blog serves to highlight the early success of the Unbridled Learning accountability model. I want to provide recognition to those students, parents, schools and districts that are leading the way with CCR.

Top Ten Districts for CCR Percentages

Beechwood Ind.          88.8%

Ft. Thomas Ind.           70.2%

Hancock County          68.8%

Hickman County          77.6%

Oldham County           70.6%

Paintsville Ind.             74.1%

Pikeville Ind.                68.8%

Walton-Verona Ind.    79.8%

Williamstown Ind.       79.7%

Top Ten Districts for Growth in CCR Percentages

Augusta Ind.                33.7-point increase

Clinton County            32.8-point increase

Cumberland County    32.3-point increase

Danville Ind.                27.3-point increase

Eminence Ind.             34.7-point increase

Fleming County           25.7-point increase

Lee County                  25.3-point increase

Paintsville Ind. 2          9.1-point increase

Pulaski County             26.8-point increase

Wayne County             33.7-point increase

Congratulations to these districts. I also want to recognize the overall growth in CCR of the vast majority of our districts. This year, 100 districts met their CCR goals, and 46 districts improved by over 10 percent.

Check out the CCR map, and make certain to give a pat on the back to those schools and districts who are helping more students be prepared for their future.