KENTUCKY — In the fall of 2023, Kentucky’s Department of Education released the annual Kentucky School Report Card for the 2022-2023 academic year, as required by state statute and the federal Every Student Succeeds Act.

During this In Focus Kentucky, Brigitte Blom, president and CEO of The Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence, joins the program to discuss the results of the report card and what it means for the future of education in Kentucky.

“So the first thing to say is kudos to our educators, families and students, because we do see increases in scores relative to the year before. And that’s a tribute to their hard work. But where we see some concern is in reading. Third grade reading is a great example of where we do see a slight increase. We do have to recognize that we’re at 46% reading proficiency in third grade, and that’s a fall from 56% in 2019, so at the current rate of improvement, it’s going to take 54 years for Kentucky to get all students to a level of proficiency. That’s a long time and a call for quicker improvement. The good thing is the legislature passed something called the Read to Succeed bill with $22 million invested in professional learning for the science after reading instruction. And we hope to see that take hold and years to come and to reverse that trend,” explained Blom.

The Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence is asking the Kentucky General Assembly for increased investments in education over the next six years, which includes proposing to increase state investment in education at all levels by $1 billion through 2026.

To learn more about The Prichard Committee’s ‘Big Bold Ask’, click here.

You can watch the full In Focus Kentucky segment in the player above.