CCPS proud of growth reflected in state assessment data, focus in on areas that need improvement

Although there are certainly areas they could use improvement, Christian County Public School officials are overall pleased with their state assessment data and the growth it shows in the students.

Although it’s likely the accountability system will change in the coming year, for now, it uses a color-coded model to show the rankings of schools.  Rankings go from red, orange, yellow, green and then blue, with red being the worst and blue being a resounding best. The rankings, and scores, are determined using six indicators, which includes assessment results in reading and mathematics, results in science, social studies and writing, English learning progress, quality of a school’s climate and safety, post-secondary readiness for the high schools and the graduation rate. 

The colors make it a little more difficult to determine the specifics amongst the schools’ data at a glance, but with that being said, South Christian Elementary School was highest performing school in the district, ranking in the ‘green’ with a 71.5.  Freedom Elementary School, while in the ‘orange’, showed the most improvement in the overall index, going from 25.9 to 52.9. Indian Hills had a big jump as well, from 48.6 to 63.8, in spite of both redistricting and moving to a new campus.

There were no schools labelled as Comprehensive School Improvement for the third year in a row, which Superintendent Chris Bentzel says is a testament to the hard work of both the staff and the students.

The number of Targeted School Improvement reduced as well, with District State Assessment Coordinator Zachary Hibbs saying that all of the Additional TSI (or ATSI) designations are specifically in the area of students with disabilities. 

Not a single school was marked ATSI for African-American students, and in fact, that group saw an overall increase in Proficient and Distinguished scores across all grade levels.

In the breakdown: South Christian scored a 71.5, Crofton Elementary scored 64.4, Millbrooke scored 64.2, Indians Hills scored a 63.8, Sinking Fork scored 63.1, Pembroke a 59, Freedom Elementary scored 52.9, Christian County Middle School saw a big increase from 46.5 to 57.2, while Hopkinsville Middle School scored a 52.8. At the high schools, Hopkinsville High School was only a point shy from reaching ‘green’ with a 69.3 and Christian County High School was right behind them with a score of 66.1.

Assistant Superintendent Kevin Crider bragged on the students, saying they’ve always been capable of greatness, the leadership just had to find a way to help them shine.

Moving forward, Bentzel says they’ll keep moving forward with investments into focused learning programs, and once the high schools are settled into the consolidated, new facility, they’ll work on getting instruction dialed in.

Folks can find the data and look through it themselves on the Kentucky Schools Report Card website, and Superintendent Bentzel says he’s confident that no matter what school your student goes to, they’re getting the same level and high quality of education they get at any school in the district.