Ed | Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence

REACHING PROFICIENCY AN ONGOING CHALLENGE

FEBRUARY 2020 \\\\\ JENKINS INDEPENDENT “Y. Yellow. yuh.” These are the sounds of kindergarten students building the ground floor of becoming a reader. At a horseshoe-shaped table, Vonda Penley, kindergarten teacher at Jenkins Elementary School, reviews letters and sounds.

How leadership in a changing world relates to school success

Although organizations have existed in some form since the beginning of time, the study and labeling of organizations began during the Industrial Revolution to make people and processes, like machines, more efficient and effective. The evolution of the study theories of organization has continued, which has had an influence over…

An open letter to the 2020 Kentucky General Assembly

With the 2020 Kentucky General Assembly in full swing and budget discussions taking place, one theme is clear: Kentucky’s financial situation is dark. At the Prichard Committee, however, we are focusing on the light at the end of the tunnel as we have always done in our work to build…

MAKING PROFICIENCY A DISTRICT CONSTANT

FEBRUARY 2020 \\\\\ MONROE COUNTY A clear handle on fractions is the goal for fourth-grade math students one January morning at Gamaliel Elementary, a small school perched near the Tennessee border in Monroe County. Teacher Shelly Buck asks her students to concentrate and visualize: “Make up one-fourth in your head,”…

Small STEM Gaps In K-12 Education: Why I Barely Glance at Male/Female Results

When new assessment results come out, I barely glance at how we’re serving female students and male students, even as I’m hurrying to see what progress Kentucky delivered (or failed to deliver) for other groups. This post offers a quick look at why gender isn’t at the top of my…

Postsecondary STEM has Important Gender Gaps: Why Is It So Different?

Kentucky’s K-12 data may show only small STEM gaps by gender, but postsecondary STEM degrees are another matter. At our public universities, female students are a majority of enrolled students and bachelor degree recipients, but a small minority of STEM degree recipients, and the drop-off is much worse for female…

Legislation aims to increase FAFSA completion

House Bill 87 of the 2020 Regular Session of the Kentucky General Assembly aims to increase the number of students completing the FAFSA – the Free Application for Federal Student Aid – by making it a high school graduation requirement. The legislation would allow waivers of the requirement under certain…

Supporting superintendents as if they were CEOs

Would you drive a car whose technology hasn’t changed in 30 years? Would you trust a surgeon who uses the same techniques used 30 years ago? As a consumer, would you expect continued innovation, research, development, and respectful progress in the profession? Would you support and invest in the organizations…

KBE Letter: “Statistically and practically significant” achievement gaps in the accountability system

On January 30, the Prichard Committee sent the following letter to the Kentucky Board of Education requesting that they to reconsider the methodology used for reporting on “statistically and practically significant” achievement gaps in the accountability system and on the School Report Card.

The system’s current construct downplays inequities for…