Ed | Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence

Student Voice Team leading study on the student impact of COVID-19

This week on Innovations in Education, we held our first all-student panel discussion about how middle and high school students are coping with COVID-19. The Prichard Committee’s Student Voice Team (SVT), started creating the survey on this topic when schools closed for the pandemic in March. Over the past several…

Good and Bad News on Postsecondary Gender Gaps

After our recent analysis of postsecondary trends, a good friend asked how the results look when results broken out by gender. That’s an important question, because the trends pretty consistently show more intense change –good or bad—for male students.

Tackling the Decline in College-Going

This week on Innovations in Education, we wanted to better understand the decline in college-going happening in Kentucky and nationally. Since our panel included three superintendents and an education cooperative director, we also talked about plans for high school graduation ceremonies, how remote learning is going, and how districts are…

In COVID-19 era, internet access is a basic necessity

Two months have passed since businesses and schools across the Commonwealth began shutting their doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As educators and business began adapting, one thing became abundantly clear: the internet is as necessary as electricity and plumbing is for our daily lives. As social distancing becomes a…

Kentucky Undergraduate Enrollment Declined Even as Credentials Grew: A Trend To Watch

Monday, we celebrated Kentucky’s important progress in postsecondary attainment, as reported in the Council for Postsecondary Education’s 2020 Stronger By Degrees Progress Report, and Wednesday, we took a further look at undergraduate credentials being earned by students of different racial and ethnic backgrounds, noting growth for nearly every student group…

Equity in Recent Postsecondary Attainment: A Closer Look

Monday, I shared some major points from the Council on Postsecondary Education’s most recent progress report. For attention to equity, that report gave clear information on progress in graduating low-income students, but there’s more to be said about what’s happening for students of different racial and ethnic backgrounds.

Postsecondary Strength: 2020 Celebrations and a Few Concerns

The Council on Postsecondary Education’s 2020 Stronger By Degrees Progress Report offers progress worth celebrating in overall educational attainment, KCTCS graduation rates, and STEM+H degrees, along with slower progress on bachelor graduation rates and a concerning decline in recent high school graduates enrolling in higher education. Here comes a closer…

Council on Postsecondary Education sets tuition policy

The Council on Postsecondary Education set tuition policy for the next academic year, as well as released the 2020 annual progress report for Kentucky’s public colleges and universities at today’s quarterly meeting. Unsurprisingly, the impact of the COVID-19 public health crisis on Kentucky students and our postsecondary institutions colored much…

An open letter to Kentucky’s education leaders: Use CARES funds to ensure excellence with equity and innovation in education

An open letter to Gov. Beshear, Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman, Interim Education Commissioner Kevin Brown, members of the Kentucky Board of Education, and Council on Postsecondary Education President Aaron Thompson: More than six weeks ago Kentucky schools, childcare centers and colleges closed to protect families, educators and administrators during an…