Kentucky is changing the way it grades schools. Here’s what you need to know

Kentucky Schools will get one last batch of report cards before the state changes its grading system to align with legislation adopted in the spring. 

The new rules would change the current statewide report card criteria and also allow schools and districts to develop their own “accountability systems,” to measure performance tailored to their communities.

However, the latest set of report cards for the 2025-2026 school year, which will be released this fall, will use existing criteria while state leaders gather input on how to implement requirements of the new law.

Interpreting this year’s report cards

Before the state adopts changes, 2025-2026 report cards can be used to compare district and school performance and quality since the pandemic. 

Kentucky began collecting report card data in 2011, but most recently changed its grading criteria in 2020, also known as the “assessment and accountability” system, which meets federal standards.

Schools and districts are graded using color-coded scales to assess both “overall performance” and individual metrics over time which are available on a state dashboard.

Red is the lowest performance rating, followed by orange, yellow, green, to blue, the highest rating. 

Overall, Northern Kentucky tends to outperform the state, which ranked yellow across elementary, middle and high schools in the 2024-2025 school year.

Districts like Beechwood Independent Schools scored blue “overall performance” ratings on its last report card. However, some smaller independent school districts like Newport Independent School District, have consistently ranked as the lowest-performing in the region.

Overall performance is calculated using multiple data points, including outcomes from state academic testing called “summative assessments.”

Students are tested in grades 3 through 8 and in grade 10 in different subject areas, like reading and science. They are then graded into performance categories, from novice to distinguished.

Though summative assessment scores are a key component of the state’s grading criteria, it’s only one data point, according to Jennifer Stafford, a director in the Kentucky Department of Education Office of Assessment and Accountability. 

Districts and schools are also assessed for other performance factors, including school safety and financial transparency. 

High schools factor in even more metrics, including availability of career pathways and graduation rates.

All those individual data points are also available in school report cards. Some are also graded using a color-coded scale that instead represents change over time. 

Red indicates a significant decline, orange indicates a slighter decline, yellow indicates no change, green indicates mild improvement and blue indicates significant improvement.

Looking at those individual ratings is important, because an overall performance rating doesn’t tell the whole story, Stafford said.

“Readers should be looking at the multiple indicators and not assume the color rating defines the quality of the school,” Stafford wrote in an email to LINK nky. 

So what’s changing? 

The state’s new report card law went into effect July 1 and changes key grading criteria.

The new rules also allow schools and districts to adopt their own “accountability systems” tailored to their communities, as a complement to the state report cards.

On the state level, House Bill 257 means its report cards will assess individual student growth and engagement over time, rather than comparing groups of students year over year. The law also adds student attendance as a key metric. 

Stafford said the state is currently gathering input from stakeholders on how to implement those changes.

It remains to be seen how many districts in Northern Kentucky will adopt their own local accountability models.

At least one district, Beechwood Independent Schools, has already designed a model it plans to share this fall.

Superintendent Justin Kaiser told LINK nky the district has been working on the accountability model for nearly a year, in anticipation of the new legislation.

He said the goal is to tell a fuller story of the district by sharing data that goes beyond the state report card, like the number of health office visits or how many Beechwood staff are alumni of the district.

Kaiser said he’s not sure where other Northern Kentucky schools or districts stand with creating their own models.

“I think we’ll be the state model,” Kaiser said.

This story has been updated.