The statewide test scores of Kentucky’s pupils have increased, especially at the elementary school level, but they still have a long way to go before they reach their pre-pandemic levels.
The issue has risen in prominence in this year’s contentious Kentucky gubernatorial campaign.
In the Bluegrass State, elementary through high school students are still failing across a variety of critical topics after schools shifted to virtual learning during the COVID era to try to keep people safe. As a result, many people in Kentucky and abroad are working hard to assist pupils in overcoming the epidemic-level learning impairments that these difficulties imply.
The annual Kentucky School Report Card indicated progress among the number of kids ranked proficient or distinguished in reading at the elementary school level. Smaller increases were also seen in the number of primary school students who scored as competent or outstanding in mathematics, science, and social studies. This past spring, children in grades 3-8 and 10-11 in public schools across the state were administered statewide standardized examinations.
The off-year race between Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear and Republican candidate Daniel Cameron has received significant national attention because of the subject of learning lost due to the recent pandemic. Cameron has suggested tutoring programs for students who are lagging.
Kentucky residents have until next Tuesday to cast their ballots, but they can do it early for three days beginning this Thursday.
Attorney General Cameron has attempted to attribute the loss of education to Beshear’s response to the pandemic, which led to the closure of schools. Beshear wants all 4-year-olds in Kentucky to have access to publicly-funded preschool.
The Republican-controlled legislature has gone chiefly its own way in determining educational policies, including the funding of full-day kindergarten and massive investments in teacher pensions and infrastructure in the two-year budget passed by the legislature last year.
