Henderson County Schools Superintendent Dr. Bob Lawson said he’s proud of the district’s most recent scores on the Kentucky Summative Assessment. He said the scores, which are good and for the most part align with those from last year, aren’t the true measure of the district’s schools and the work they do.
“It’s an important data point but it is never going to be the end-all be-all for Henderson County Schools,” Lawson said.
The summative testing measures students’ learning up to the point of the testing date last spring, and now that it’s over and done with, schools and teachers are focusing on daily growth with formative assessments used to help students grow as they move through the school year, he said.
Still, Lawson said that each year he is proud of the work of the students and the staff as well as the partnerships and cooperation of parents.
“I’m always proud of that effort,” he said.
Here are some of the local results of the KSA released by HCS on Thursday:
- 85% of elementary students scored at or above grade level in reading, and 80% scored at or above grade level in math
- 77% of middle school students scored at or above grade level in reading and math
- 73% of high school students scored at or above grade level in reading, and 72% scored at or above grade level in math
- Henderson County High School had a 95.1% postsecondary readiness rate (a measurement to determine student preparedness to enter the workforce or military or attend postsecondary schooling)
- Central Academy had a 96.7% postsecondary readiness rate
- HCHS’ graduation rate (at four years) was 98.2% while Central’s (at four years) was 69.1%
- HCHS’ Scholastic Aptitude Test scores averaged 988, which is higher than both the state average (910) and the U.S. and U.S. territory average (961)
Lawson said the SAT scores were impressive because the district didn’t learn that students would be taking the SAT—after a Kentucky Department of Education switch to it from the ACT—until right at the beginning of the school year in 2025. He said that proved there was a strong foundation of instruction and that the school put together a great strategy to teach students on taking the exam.
“I’m really proud of our achievement on the SAT,” Lawson said. “Our community ought to be really proud of that.”
Next year, the KSA scores will take on a different meaning when HB 257, a measure written by local state Rep. J.T. Payne who is also the assistant principal of the Henderson County High School Career and Technical Education unit, is in place. It will change the nature of what the tests read, measuring individual students’ and schools’ growth factor, Lawson said.
As part of the KSA scores, each school in the state is rated based on the test scores that were taken last spring. A rating of blue is the highest performance. Green is a step below highest. Yellow is the middle category. Orange is the second-to-last. Red is the lowest performance.
Lawson gave a shout out to Jefferson and Bend Gate elementary schools, both of which made the Green school ranking.
Overall, the district’s elementary schools were rated yellow, the middle schools were green and the high school is yellow, which is down from last year’s blue rating.
Schools’ ratings from the district include:
A.B. Chandler: Orange
Bend Gate: Green
Cairo: Green
East Heights: Yellow
Jefferson: Green
Niagara: Blue
South Heights: Orange
Spottsville: Blue
North Middle: Yellow
South Middle: Green
Henderson County High School: Yellow
Central Academy and Thelma B. Johnson Early Learning Center do not receive performance ratings.
