It’s time for the Academy Awards, public education style, as Unbridled Learning assessments are revealed today. 

Several public high schools in the region did well in the Kentucky test results and other academic measures, which one superintendent called “snapshots” of daily learning in the schools.

Four high schools in southcentral Kentucky are ranked distinguished/progressing by the Kentucky Department of Education. One local elementary school was just 2 percentile points shy of perfection – Cumberland Trace in the county district.

Districts and schools may be rated as needs improvement (below the 70th percentile); proficient (at or above the 70th percentile); and distinguished (above the 90th percentile). The term progressing means the district or school met its annual measurable objectives, its graduation rate goal and other factors, according to the Kentucky Department of Education.

Named distinguished/progressing – the highest rank Kentucky high schools can receive – were South Warren, Greenwood, Franklin-Simpson and Glasgow high schools. South Warren and Glasgow were also named schools of distinction. FSHS was named a priority school and Greenwood a focus school. SWHS was in the 97th percentile, as was Glasgow. FSHS was in the 96th percentile, while Greenwood was in the 90th.

Bowling Green High School was ranked proficient in the 75th percentile.

Both South Warren and Glasgow received perfect scores in a new category called program review.

Warren Central was ranked in the 59th percentile and Warren East in the 51st. Allen County-Scottsville High School was in the 74th percentile, or proficient; and Barren County High School in the 72nd percentile, or proficient.

The Kentucky School Report Cards for districts and individual schools, dubbed Unbridled Learning by the state, are available online at applications.education.ky.gov/SRC

Two school districts in southcentral Kentucky, Glasgow Independent and Logan County, ranked at the top among all state school districts, which serve nearly 655,000 students across the commonwealth.

Included in the system is the Kentucky Performance Rating for Educational Progress, or K-Prep, scores. The Unbridled Learning results are based on tests taken in the 2013-14 school year at various grade levels and other education measurement tools. Parents will receive test results about their children in the coming weeks. What was once a state testing system where the scores could be compared year to year has grown into an intricate measurement of everything from test scores to whether kids are ready for the real world following high school graduation. For example, the 2013-14 results cannot be compared to the previous year because the measurement format changed with the addition of program review, officials said.

The Glasgow district was named distinguished and the Logan district was named distinguished/progressing. GISD received a 96 percentile ranking for the 2013-14 school year as did Logan County.

“We realize we have a lot of work to do,” Glasgow Superintendent Sean Howard said in a telephone interview Wednesday. Howard was pleased with the results, noting Glasgow High School continues to be one of the top 15 high schools in the state.

“We name and we claim the kids,” Howard said. The 2,017-student district is small enough that personal attention can be given to the students, he said. “We know the kids who need assistance. We have homework help for students and after-school tutorials.”

Logan County Schools also continued to shine in the state results.

“Achievement gains in every one of our schools illustrates our high level of professional collaboration, competitive spirit and strategies designed to support continuous improvement,” Superintendent Kevin Hub said in an email.

“We are doing great things in Logan County and the students benefit,” Hub said in a telephone interview Thursday. “We have a focus on continuous improvement for instructional strategies and professional development focuses on the needs of all teachers to help all students. The results show that we do not have to make wholesale changes.”

The high rankings extended across several Logan County schools, the superintendent said.

“Four of our schools scored at or above the 95th percentile and met or exceeded each of their accountability goals, earning them the label of ‘School of Distinction,’ ”Hub said. Those schools are Adairville, Auburn and Olmstead middle schools and Olmstead Elementary School. Chandlers and Auburn elementary schools were labeled Distinguished with scores above the 90th percentile. Lewisburg Middle School ranked at the 89th percentile.

Warren County Public Schools received a proficient/progressing ranking, placing in the 87th percentile.

“It’s gratifying to see the quality of leadership, instruction and student learning occurring daily in our schools be validated by these results,” Warren County Public Schools Superintendent Rob Clayton said in a release.

In the news release from Morgan Watson, communications director, the district noted Cumberland Trace Elementary was in the 98th percentile and South Warren Middle School was in the 96th percentile. Cumberland Trace received a perfect score on program review.

“We’re on the right track,” Jason Kupchella, Warren County district’s chief academic officer, said this morning. “We’re not where we want to be, but we have made significant improvement.”

When the data is crunched, Kupchella said administrators will be asked “What’s your next step?”

Simpson County Schools received a proficient ranking with a 86 percentile ranking. 

“We’re really pleased with our progress,” Simpson Superintendent Jim Flynn said. “This gives the parents, public and community the idea of how the school district is performing. Our goal is making graduates life-ready. The graduation rate and the career-ready measurements are important.”

Bowling Green Independent School District was also ranked proficient with a 80th percentile.

“This is just one in a series of snapshots of daily learning,” Bowling Green Superintendent Joe Tinius said. “After the fall break, we will walk through the results, which vary from school to school. We are pleased that W.R. McNeill Elementary has been ranked distinguished and Potter Gray Elementary is within four-tenths of a point of also being ranked distinguished.”

Barren County schools also was ranked proficient and is at the 78th percentile.

Distinguished school rankings were achieved by Hiseville and North Jackson elementary schools, the district said in a release.

“As Kentucky continues the efforts of implementing the Unbridled Learning system as part of Senate Bill 1, our schools have focused on continual improvement,” said Scott Harper, Barren County director of instruction and technology, in the release.

Student performance, college/career-readiness and the number of students graduating from high school are improving, according to data released Thursday by the KDE.

“The numbers show, without a doubt, that we are making progress,” said Kentucky Education Commissioner Terry Holliday in a release. “The gains we are seeing are the result of a lot of hard work by our teachers, administrators and our students with the support of parents, community members and our education partners – they all share in this good news.”

In 2014, the college/career readiness rate jumped to 62.3 percent, up from 54.1 percent last year and 47.2 percent in 2012. The four-year graduation rate is up as well – from 86.1 percent in 2012-13 to 87.4 percent in the 2013-14 school year. 

— Follow education reporter Chuck Mason on Twitter at twitter.com/bgdn schools or visit bgdailynews.com.