Kentucky’s State Highlights

Summary of Grades

Kentucky scores at or above average in three of the four graded policy categories in Quality Counts.

The state does well in standards and accountability, scoring above the average state in this section. Kentucky posts a strong showing on the school accountability indicators and receives full credit on indicators related to assessments. The state has tests aligned to state standards in the four core subjects at every grade span; elementary, middle, and high school.

In teacher quality, Kentucky’s performance is again better than average. The state has strong policies related to professional support and training for teachers. Kentucky is one of only 15 states to require and finance mentoring for all novice teachers. But the state has room to improve in the area of teacher education and qualifications.

Kentucky does not fare as well in school climate. One reason for its below-average score is that the state lags behind other states on measures of choice and autonomy. Kentucky joins only six other states and the District of Columbia in not having public school openenrollment programs. State law also does not allow charter schools.

Kentucky scores at the national average in resource equity. The state scores relatively well on the coefficient-of-variation measure. This indicates a relatively low degree of disparity in funding levels among Kentucky’s districts, compared with other states.

Note: Details may not sum to totals due to rounding.