Fayette schools earn record-breaking CATS scores

Contact: Lisa Deffendall • First Posted: Wednesday, September 10, 2008

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With six years to go before Kentucky’s 2014 deadline, more than a third of Fayette County Public Schools have already bested state proficiency and posted accountability ratings above 100 in the latest round of state test results. Overall, 19 Fayette County schools now have scores above 100, and all but three of the district’s 50 schools are either rated as meeting goals or making progress.

 

“I just want to thank all of our students, teachers, staff, parents and community members for the hard work that’s going into our classrooms every single day,” said Fayette County Schools Superintendent Stu Silberman. “We are happy to see the kind of progress that’s taking place in our district and we want that to continue. At the same time, we are very much aware that we have schools where we need to intensify our support and efforts.”

 

Schools and districts across Kentucky received their annual Commonwealth Accountability and Testing System scores and achievement ratings from the state department of education today, Sept. 10, 2008.

 

Widely known as “CATS,” the yearly reports are designed to show parents and the community how well each school is serving students. The scores, which range from 0 to 140, are a combination of student test scores in different subject areas and other measures of excellence, such as attendance, retention and dropout rates. Schools are judged according to progress toward individually calculated goals every two years.

 

As a district, Fayette County has reached a new benchmark, posting a score above 90 for the first time ever. With an overall index of 90.2 (an increase of 1.5 points over last year), the district is now less than 10 points from the state 2014 proficiency benchmark of 100.

 

There is also much to celebrate at individual schools across the district! A record 19 Fayette County schools surpassed the 100 point mark – up from 13 schools last year, and up from three schools just three years ago.

 

Schools above 100 for the first time are Athens-Chilesburg Elementary, Garden Springs Elementary, Julius Marks Elementary, Lansdowne Elementary, Squires Elementary and Yates Elementary. Schools that remain above 100 are Ashland Elementary, Cassidy Elementary, Clays Mill Elementary, Dixie Elementary, Glendover Elementary, Maxwell Elementary, Meadowthorpe Elementary, Morton Middle, Picadome Elementary, Rosa Parks Elementary, School for the Creative and Performing Arts, Stonewall Elementary and Veterans Park Elementary.

 

“Having 19 schools go over 100 is showing everyone that all kids can reach proficiency no matter where they attend school,” Silberman said. “We have some schools that traditionally have not performed at this level, which can show our community and all of Kentucky that kids of all races, socio-economic status and special needs can achieve at high levels.”

 

Beating 100 is a special accomplishment for Yates Elementary, which just three years ago was receiving front page attention for anemic test scores and failure to meet No Child Left Behind standards.

 

“If ever there was a poster school for high expectations and student achievement, Yates Elementary is it,” Silberman said. “This is a school that has faced some serious adversity over the years, but has persevered to come through and show that all kids can learn at high levels. They, along with so many of our other schools, have made a phenomenal difference in the lives of our kids.”

 

Yates is one of two Fayette County schools that posted double-digit gains on their CATS scores this year. Russell Cave also accomplished this feat, for the second year in a row. Of the 50 schools where comparisons can be made between 2007 and 2008, 38 schools – or 76 percent – made gains. Two schools had no change in scores and 10 schools had decreases. (Of those 10, three schools had minor losses of less than a point and three schools have scores already above 100, so minor fluctuation is acceptable.) In addition, 84 percent of schools in the district posted scores above 80.

 

Roughly six out of 10 schools in the district – 29 schools overall – met their state accountability goals during this cycle. An additional 18 schools can be said to be making progress and three schools have been judged in need of assistance.

 

It’s important to note that because of changes to school attendance zones, all three schools with performance below the assistance line are schools being compared with district averages instead of individual school benchmarks. Had they been judged against goals determined by past performance, those schools might have different accountability ratings, because all three schools posted gains.

 

For the past two years, district and school leaders have implemented many specific strategies designed to elevate achievement levels one classroom at a time. Schools with low performance levels or flat progress were targeted with additional resources and support. A cornerstone of the effort were dozens of district “walk-thru’s,” led by teams of district administrators who spent the year meeting with principals in the identified schools, observing classrooms, conferencing with staff, helping to analyze data, developing specific action plans and following up regularly on progress.

 

Despite those efforts, and many laudable gains in achievement, the scores also reveal many areas of concern. Across the district there are still too many disparities in student achievement levels within schools. While some schools are proving that all kids can reach excellence, other schools are leaving too many kids behind.

 

Another area of concern is achievement at the high school level. On the heels of two great pieces of high school news – top 10 ACT scores and the first time that every high school in the district has produced a National Merit Semi-Finalist – CATS results are flat.

 

Silberman said that although it’s important to celebrate great accomplishments at the high school level, it is critical that those celebrations not draw the district off task.

 

“Our focus is not going to change,” Silberman said. “Even though it seems that there’s some mixed information, the ultimate goal is for us to get our students and schools to proficiency. There are several data points for our high schools, and they represent highs and lows for us. Ultimately we have to say the results are an affirmation that we’re providing the opportunities for students to achieve. Our challenge is to make sure that all of our kids are attaining these levels.”