Carroll County Schools Announce Kentucky Summative Assessment Scores

Carroll County High School seen the biggest improvement of all the schools in Carroll County

Carroll County Schools has made dramatic increases in its Kentucky Summative Assessment test scores in just one year.

“We’ve made great improvements across the board. Every school in Carroll County has something to celebrate this year,” said Jonica Ray, assistant superintendent, chief academic officer and district assessment coordinator.

KSA is the annual standardized testing mechanism given to all Kentucky schools. It is used as an accountability tool at the state and federal level.

Cartmell’s overall score is 46.6, Carroll County Middle School’s overall score is 33.0 and Carroll County High School’s overall score is 70.2. The high school showed the greatest improvement overall.

“I am so proud of our CCHS family,” said Principal Amy Sutter. “The students and the staff are the critical pieces to our success and these test scores are a testament to their hard work, dedication, and belief in their abilities.”

“There has been an intentional focus on creating systems for monitoring the instructional process and collecting data to guide our next steps toward improving,” Ray said. “Although we are facing a critical teacher shortage, we have continued to focus on improvement efforts that are within our control. We believe staying the course with our intentional focus is finally paying off and our improved test scores reflect that.”

One of the touted successes this year is Carroll County Middle School emerging from CSI (Comprehensive Support and Improvement) status.

“The middle school getting out of CSI in one year is huge,” said Carroll County Schools Superintendent Casey Jaynes. “We have many areas to celebrate in our schools as we demonstrated growth in every school,” the superintendent added.

CCMS Principal Dr. Robin Stephenson said she is “thrilled” to announce this achievement. “This is a testament to the unwavering dedication and hard work of our entire school community. While we celebrate this win, we also acknowledge that our work has just begun. As we move forward, we will remain committed to our goals and the continuous improvement process,” Stephenson said.

Another success in the district is Richard B. Cartmell Elementary School emerging from TSI (Targeted Support and Improvement) status for students who are considered economically disadvantaged. In addition to exiting TSI status, Cartmell Elementary students showed an increase in scores in all tested areas. “I am beyond proud of the tireless efforts of our school staff that have led to these gains,” said Cartmell Principal Brandi Wells. “We know we have a lot more work to do in the years to come on our path toward proficiency, but I am confident that the continued focus on district systems and processes will continue to breed success”. 

Students in grades third through eighth as well as 10th and 11th grades are tested each year in May. Different grades test on different subjects. Kathryn Winn Primary’s students are not tested, but they receive the same scores as Cartmell because they are a feeder school.

Students are ranked as novice, apprentice, proficient or distinguished based on their individual KSA scores.

The district has purchased new K-12 curriculum in recent years and developed curriculum templates for uniform approaches. Teachers are also provided targeted professional development. Leadership is also examining all of the resources used to determine if they remain viable and they are encouraging more parent and community involvement in our schools.

All of these things play a role in the successes shown at each school during this testing cycle.

“We are working diligently to create a school system that our students, staff, families and community members can be proud of,” Ray said.

“This is a great start toward our vision of being a Top10 school system in the state. Now we must look toward #vision2035 and how we can set up our school system for more success in the future,” Jaynes added.

The full school report card can be viewed at www.kyschoolreportcard.com.