Raising drop out age important step in ensuring more students are college/career ready
Education Commissioner Terry Holliday The recent “Diplomas Count” study certainly gave us something to celebrate in Kentucky. The Kentucky graduation rate for the Class of 2010 (the most recent data available for this report) was 77.2 percent – better than the national average of 74.7 percent. Kentucky ranked third in the nation for most improvement in the graduation rate over the last decade, gaining 13.5 percentage points compared to a national improvement of 7.9 points. That is good news. But more work is needed. According to “Diplomas Count,” Kentucky had 53,524 students enter 9th grade in 2009-10, but [...]
Senate Bill 1 and Kentucky Core Academic Standards
Education Commissioner Terry Holliday Education Commissioner Terry Holliday recently had a column published in the Cincinnati Enquirer in which he discusses the link between Senate Bill 1 and the Kentucky Core Academic Standards. This is a longer version of that column. Our goal in Kentucky is to provide students in our state with a world class education that will prepare them for college, careers and to compete in a global economy. This has been the focus since the passage of Senate Bill 1 (2009), which charged the Kentucky Department of Education in collaboration with the Council on Postsecondary Education to “plan and [...]
A thank you to educators as Kentucky sets sights on effectiveness
Education Commissioner Terry Holliday The 2012-13 school year has been a busy one for Kentucky public education. Educators have undertaken a number of initiatives and realized some major achievements as we work to transform schools into vibrant, engaging and innovative places that equip Kentucky’s children with the knowledge and skills they will need to succeed in a 21st-century world. I am grateful for the commitment shown by so many in this state – from educators and lawmakers to parents, community groups and business leaders. All of you have responded to the call for change and done your part [...]
A Productive Legislative Session
Education Commissioner Terry Holliday All in all, the 2013 session of the General Assembly was a very productive session for education. The major initiative of the Governor, First Lady and the Kentucky Board of Education was the passage of the graduation bill. This bill allows local school systems to raise the dropout age from 16 to 18. The bill includes a state trigger once 55 percent of school districts adopt the change in policy, it would become a requirement in all districts within four years. It is my goal to have 55 percent of the school [...]
Spring brings opportunities to engage with Kentucky students, schools
Education Commissioner Terry Holliday Throughout the commonwealth, educators are working diligently and with a sense of urgency to ensure ALL Kentucky’s students are college/career-ready when they graduate high school. They know it is an economic imperative not only for their students but also for our state. Together, we have made great strides this past year, as we worked to transform our schools into vibrant, engaging and innovative places that equip Kentucky’s children with the deeper knowledge, stronger critical thinking skills and the entrepreneurial spirit they need to succeed in a 21st-century world. But our work is far from [...]
Time for teachers to TELL Kentucky about teaching, learning and the workplace
Education Commissioner Terry Holliday No matter how busy my schedule gets as Kentucky’s education commissioner, I am always interested in receiving feedback. That’s one of the many reasons I meet regularly with staff, connect through social media and visit schools around the state. The comments, questions and ideas I receive from all of these and many other activities are invaluable, and I believe help Kentucky continue making gains in its pledge to ensure every child is college and career ready. That is why I am such a big supporter of the TELL Kentucky survey which was first administered [...]
Data is the means to reaching Kentucky’s education goals
Education Commissioner Terry Holliday The release of Unbridled Learning accountability results last month was met with a flurry of newspaper stories, board presentations, parent workshops and a lot of discussion. As expected, early reports seemed to focus on the overall drop in proficiency and the new state-provided percentile rankings for schools and districts. A few accounts rightfully noted the dramatic increase in the percentage of high school graduates who are college and career ready. So, now that the dust has settled, the real work begins. The online School Report Card provides a wealth of information that provides educators [...]
Innovation, not business as usual, will improve Kentucky public schools
Education Commissioner Terry Holliday Positive change is underway in Kentucky’s public schools. But as the K-PREP scores released last week show us, we as educators are going to need to take even more dramatic steps if we are going to move our students and our schools forward. Small, incremental changes like block scheduling, computers in the classroom and a new curriculum are not going to be enough. Those are tools that can help us, but they, in and of themselves, are not going to produce the type of school transformation that is going to energize and engage [...]
Advising paves the way for college and career readiness
Education Commissioner Terry Holliday With more jobs requiring at least some postsecondary education or training, college and career readiness is driving major changes that are taking root in Kentucky public schools. The implementation of more rigorous academic standards that are aligned with the concepts and 21st century skills students need to know to succeed in college and the workplace plays an important role in that shift. But just making classes harder, so to speak, isn’t the only step we need to take to truly transform education in Kentucky. Research shows that if schools create safe, supportive, and respectful [...]
Preparing for K-PREP results
The Kentucky Department of Education will release the results of the first Kentucky Performance Rating for Educational Progress (K-PREP) next month. Education Commissioner Terry Holliday I know there is great anticipation – and maybe anxiousness – about what the results will reveal. Kentucky educators are drawn to teaching by the belief they can make a positive difference in students’ lives – and you are. So, it is difficult to be on the receiving end of what may be seen as bad news. Yet, we know for many of our schools that will the case with this first round [...]