Interim education committee receives assessment, accountability update

Interim education committee receives assessment, accountability update June 4, 2025

Rep. Tina Bojanowski, D-Louisville, left, speaks during Tuesday’s Interim Joint Committee on Education meeting. The state’s top education official testified about a new accountability system that’s being developed. With Bojanowski is Rep. Adrielle Camuel, D-Lexington. A high-res version is available here.

FRANKFORT — Legislators on the Interim Joint Committee on Education garnered insight from Kentucky’s top education official Tuesday regarding development of the state’s new education assessment and accountability model.

Education Commissioner Robbie Fletcher presented an overview of the model and said it’s based on three priorities – providing vibrant learning experiences for all students, encouraging innovation and creating a “bold new future” for the state’s schools through collaboration with communities.

The effort was spurred by the Kentucky United We Learn Council, led by the Kentucky Department of Education and funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education.

“You’ve seen some of this stuff firsthand,” Fletcher testified. “You’ve seen how districts are including students as part of the decision-making in their learning. You’ve seen districts that test students where they are then also make sure they have a pathway moving forward to meet their needs in reading, mathematics and other areas. But also too, collaboration.”

Prototypes for the program were developed last summer, and the goal is to have an approved, reimagined accountability system by the summer of 2026. The KDE, council and stakeholders are in an advocacy phase for the accountability system now, Fletcher said.

The proposed system calls for students to demonstrate knowledge and skills in a variety of ways and for state tests that meet student where they are. Additionally, districts would work with communities to design custom accountability systems that reflect local values, and all schools would receive peer and expert external feedback to support improvement.

Rep. Emily Callaway, R-Louisville, said she was grateful for the update, and it’s amazing to see morale at an area technology center and witness students’ skills and leadership abilities of administrators.

“I want to reiterate, while we talk about all this, it is really good to see the implementation and so I’m encouraged by that. I’d like to see it in the other district that I represent,” she said.

Sen. Stephen Meredith, R-Leitchfield, said he’s concerned about how American students are not keeping up with students from other nations in science. He pointed to rural communities without a hospital, for example, where students could gain valuable work experience.

“When you’ve got limited resources and limited opportunities for collaborative relationships, how do we address that kind of inequity?”

Fletcher said there are collaborative efforts that are working despite distance between students and worksites.

“We’re seeing not only districts work with their local community, but they’re also collaborating with neighboring districts. I can think of at least two districts that work together…” he said. “The students in Menifee County are going to Montgomery County to work there.”

Rep. Tina Bojanowski, D-Louisville, said she’s a special education teacher who provides accommodations for third, fourth and fifth-graders to take the Kentucky Summative Assessment.

“The KSA is not, as it is today, not meaningful, nor useful to educators or students. For example, our fifth graders had 10 hours and 20 minutes of scheduled testing time. In comparison, the Kentucky Bar Exam is 12 hours,” she said.

Bojanowski asked if Fletcher he could share data about how much of the other scores are explained by math and reading.

Fletcher said districts have collected correlation data to learn how their individual assessments match up. Some districts use STAR Literacy Assessments or MAP Growth Assessments for reading and math to inform the decision-making.

Poverty is one issue that should be kept at the forefront in student success efforts, said Rep. Sarah Stalker, D-Louisville. She said poverty could be a big barrier to education.

“I know it was mentioned earlier about extracurricular activities and the correlation to that…what about housing and food insecurity and transportation,” she asked.

Jesse Bacon, superintendent of the Bullitt County School District, said more awareness of poverty emerged as the accountability system was being developed.

“That will become a part of the expectation conversations that we have. In those pillars is making sure that we are accounting for those things, making sure… students who are struggling with poverty issues have the same opportunities to participate in all of the different activities that are available to any student in our district,” he said.

Rep. Jennifer Decker, R-Waddy, said she favors the emphasis on skills and testing and the collaborations between students, administrators and businesses.

“I appreciated your comment about the fact that sometimes the communities just receive education, but here they have input in it. And thank you for all the work you’re doing,” she told Fletcher.

---

https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/publicservices/pio/release.html#IJCEdu-060325