Although default rates have decreased in recent years, community colleges still struggle to keep their rates in check: 18.5 percent of borrowers from public two-year colleges default within three years compared to the national average rate of 11.3 percent. In 2015, the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) published "A Closer Look…

This study examines Kentucky high school students' participation and pass rates in college preparatory transition courses, voluntary remedial courses in math and reading offered to grade 12 students. These courses are targeted to students scoring just below the state's college readiness benchmarks on the ACT in grade 11. The study found that:…

This report presents the deliberations of the Appalachia Regional Advisory Committee (Appalachia RAC), one of 10 RACs established under the Educational Technical Assistance Act of 2002 (20 U.S.C. sections 9601 et. seq.) to assess the educational needs of the region. The Committee's report outlines the educational needs across the four states of…

This paper profiles Kentucky's test score trends through 2008-09. In 2007, the mean scale score on the state 4th grade reading test was 455 for non-Title I students and 451 for Title I students. In 2009, the mean scale score in 4th grade reading was 455 for non-Title I students and 451 for Title I students. Between 2007 and 2009, the mean scale…

This study surveyed educators in 30 school districts in Eastern Kentucky to examine the extent to which a grassroots movement toward inclusive schooling is developing, as well as teacher attitudes toward the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA) of 1990. Of the 3,393 questionnaires distributed, 651 were returned from 65 (of 178) schools. Generally…

This document is a request by the Kentucky Department of Education for state legislation to mandate services and provide new state funding for preschool children aged 3, 4, and 5, with handicaps. Preschool services would include special education (center, home-based, itinerant); speech, physical, and occupational therapies; and other related…

This report presents tables, graphs, and narrative to describe the current status of postsecondary education in Kentucky in the context of the Kentucky Postsecondary Improvement Act of 1997. The Act changes how postsecondary education is defined (to include postsecondary technical schools) and its activities and programs measured. The first…

Under the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), standardized test scores are the indicator used to hold schools and school districts accountable for student achievement. Each state is responsible for constructing an accountability system, attaching consequences--or stakes--for student performance. The theory of action implied by this…