The Kentucky Department of Education has released the accountability and assessment data from the 2023-2024 school year and there were several bright spots throughout Marion County Public Schools, including Calvary Elementary receiving a Blue rating, which is the highest rating a school can receive.
“We had some really incredible, note-worthy improvements across the district,” Superintendent Chris Brady said. “Obviously, what Calvary Elementary accomplished was very impressive, but what’s also important are the improvements we saw throughout subject areas and at all schools. For example, if you take a close look at the writing scores you’ll see they improved at every school. It speaks to the commitment and hard work put in by our teachers and our schools’ willingness to commit to the strategies that we know lead to improvement.”
In all, MCPS saw gains in over 70% of academic areas.
The reason for improvement: effective teachers.
“There’s no doubt that our teachers are the reason why we’re seeing improvements in so many areas,” Brady said. “They’ve bought in to truly focusing on academic standards and it continues to show.”
While Brady said he encourages families to explore the performance data for their child’s school, he also hopes they take the time to look at their child’s individual report.
“The rating that each school earns receives the most attention, but I think as a parent or guardian you should really focus on how your child performed,” he said. “One of the best ways to help with your child’s academic progress is to be aware of his or her strengths and areas for growth.”
Brady also attributed the improvements to the investments the school district has made with academic improvement in mind.
“We’ve been very careful to make sure we’re focusing our resources in ways that will lead to student achievement. We’ve invested in textbooks, classroom materials, quality professional development, but we’ve also invested in our people,” Brady said. “When you can make teaching a more attractive profession, which we’ve done through our pay increases, you’re more likely to attract high quality candidates and retain the great teachers we already have in our schools.”
In addition to individual school scores, KDE also publishes performance levels for the entire district based on grade level. MCPS received a Yellow rating for the high school and middle school levels and a Green rating for the elementary level.
Individually, schools received the following color-coded ratings:
Calvary Elementary - BLUE
Glasscock Elementary - GREEN
Lebanon Elementary - YELLOW West Marion Elementary - GREEN
Lebanon Middle School (formerly Marion County Knight Academy) - YELLOW
Marion County Middle School - GREEN
Marion County High School - YELLOW