For most of Monday and Tuesday, school administrators have been pouring over the 2021-22 Kentucky Summative Assessment — essentially the state’s report card for school districts in the Commonwealth.
It’s the first time in two years such data has been released, following the COVID-19 pandemic, and Trigg County Schools received medium or better marks for all four of its campuses. The elementary and middle schools earned “yellow” federal classifications, while the high school received a “green” status.
A new ranking system, designated by color, goes from red to blue — with red meaning “very low” and blue meaning “very high.” Orange means “low,” yellow means “medium” and green means “high.”
Superintendent Bill Thorpe was part of several in-house meetings Monday, as well as a statewide Tuesday teleconference. He noted that he was pleased with Trigg County’s rankings following a two-year COVID-19 gap in achievement, and that there’s plenty to take away from the data.
Trigg County High School specifically received yellow assessments in reading, mathematics, science, social studies and combined writing skills, as well as quality of school climate and safety, as well as its graduation rate. The high school received the highest-possible ranking of blue for its postsecondary readiness efforts.
Thorpe said the blue indicator came from a combination of successful angles with which administrators try to prepare students for the “next step” after graduation.
Trigg County Middle School received medium marks in reading, mathematics and quality of climate and safety, but received a green indicator for its testing aptitudes in science, social studies and combined writing skills.
Thorpe noted that it was extremely difficult to maintain science equity, social studies concepts and writing skills away from a personal classroom, but a return to in-person learning helped expedite deficiency — especially at the middle school.
Trigg County Intermediate & Primary received yellow grades for reading, mathematics, social studies, science and combined writing assessments, but did receive an orange “low” indicator for its quality of school climate and safety survey.
Thorpe said he and his administrators aren’t sure where the “low” indicator stems from, and are looking forward to diving into some of the queries to determine where this can improve.
A joint SBDM/Board meeting, in which comprehensive data will be discussed and shared with the public, is scheduled for 5 PM October 27, in order to fully unspool this assessment.
