Boyle schools excel again on state assessment; Junction City Elementary earns five-star rating

Published 8:42 am Thursday, October 3, 2019

 

Boyle County School District is once again ranked as one of the top 10 districts in the state. The Kentucky Department of Education released its annual accountability scores for all public schools and districts this week, and Boyle County schools largely excelled compared to state averages.

As a whole, the district was given four out of five possible stars. This is the first year for KDE’s new star-based rating system.

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“We are pleased with our students’ performance, as they continue to excel year after year,” Assistant Superintendent David Young said. “We are continually working to help students master the content in core subjects. This leads to success in the classroom on any assessment.”

Elementary

According to a news release from the school district, its three elementary schools combined to give the district the sixth-best overall score for elementary schools in the state.

“Junction City Elementary School was recognized for its outstanding performance with a five-star rating, while Perryville Elementary School and Woodlawn Elementary School received four-star ratings,” according to the release. “The schools also are in the top 5% in the state in science and in the top 10% in the state in reading and math combined proficiency.

“Junction City nearly doubled its distinguished score in writing, while Perryville Elementary School saw a massive increase in distinguished and proficient scores in science. Finally, Woodlawn Elementary made great strides in the percentage of students who scored proficient and distinguished in reading and science.”

The state’s online proficiency dashboard shows all three elementary schools exceeded state averages across the board in reading, math, writing, social studies and science.

Junction City was one of only 36 elementary schools to earn a five-star rating in the state, according to information from the school.

Middle school

Boyle County Middle School earned a four-star rating with a “very high” score for reading and math proficiency; a “high” score for science, social studies and writing proficiency; and a “low” score in the category of “growth,” which attempts to gauge how much each student improves year-over-year.

The middle school beat state averages for proficiency in every area except writing, where the state average was 0.8% higher, according to the proficiency dashboard.

The middle school “had an impressive increase in math distinguished scores, as well as an increase in science” scores, according to the release. “In proficiency scores for reading and math, the school is ranked eighth out of all middle schools in the state. In math alone, it is sixth and in reading alone, 19th. In science, the middle school is in the top 10% of schools in the state.”

High school

Boyle County High School also received four stars. It exceeded state average scores by a significant margin in one category that looks at reading and math scores; and in another category that looks at science and writing, according to KDE’s accountability dashboard.

The high school’s “transition readiness” score, based on how well students are prepared for college or a career when they graduate, was rated “medium” but still exceeded the state average, which is classified as “low.”

The high school’s graduation rate of 98.5% is one of the best in the state.

The high school’s reading and math score is in the top 10% in the state and “there was an uptick in the school’s proficient scores” in science and writing, according to the district’s news release.

District

As part of the assessment process, the schools will “identify opportunities for improvement,” according to the release.

“For those areas of improvement, each school will construct a plan to address the specific factors identified to improve content mastery. All schools will be working on improving writing skills along with continuing to implement the Boyle County Blueprint. The blueprint encourages collaborative teaming, rigorous learning as a result of high-quality lesson development, actively engaging students and ongoing assessments to measure learning.”

The district as a whole is among the top 10 districts in the state for the seventh consecutive year, according to the district.

“Our students and teachers have been working hard and it shows,” Superintendent Mike LaFavers said. “… Junction City Elementary especially had a stand-out year, but all our schools should be pleased with their performance.”

To view the newly released 18-19 accountability and proficiency scores and other data about Kentucky’s schools and school districts, visit kyschoolreportcard.com. Watch for a second story about Danville Independent School District’s scores in an upcoming edition of The Advocate-Messenger.