This week, the Education Commission of the States awarded the Kentucky Board of Education with the 2015 Frank Newman Award for State Innovation for the board’s comprehensive work to dramatically increase college and career readiness in the Commonwealth.
The national award was presented at the ECS National Forum on Education Policy in Denver, Colorado.
“The work being done in Kentucky to boost college and career readiness has been tremendous. The impact of the Unbridled Learning model is being felt not only in the Commonwealth, but also across the nation. It is an honor for Education Commission of the States to recognize the years-long efforts of Kentucky and its Board of Education,” said Jeremy Anderson, president of Education Commission of the States.
Kentucky Board of Education Roger L. Marcum, Commissioner of Education Terry Holliday and Executive Director of the Kentucky Board of Education Mary Ann Miller accepted the award.
“On behalf of the Kentucky Board of Education, it is an honor to receive this award from the Education Commission of the States,” Marcum said. “With the passage of Senate Bill 1 in 2009, Kentucky undertook significant reforms that focused on ensuring our students gain the knowledge and skills they will need to succeed in college, postsecondary training, the military or the workplace.”
Unbridled Learning: College/Career-Readiness for All, incorporates continuous improvement, identifies student learning gaps, emphasizes student achievement growth measures and holds districts accountable for improving student performance and providing quality learning opportunities.
Unbridled Learning has boosted student achievement in several ways, including:
· More than 62 percent of all graduates in 2014 were considered ready to take credit-bearing college courses or a postsecondary training program, up from 34 percent in 2010.
· The percentage of recent high school graduates who entered college in Kentucky and met statewide standards for readiness in English, math and reading increased from 54 percent in 2010-11 to more than 68 percent in 2012-13.
“This work has not been easy and has taken the coordinated effort of teachers, administrators, parents, business leaders and community members, but we are proud of the significant progress we have made toward our goal of having all students college and career ready when they graduate from high school,” Marcum said.
The Frank Newman Award for State Innovation recognizes a state for any of the following:
· Education improvement efforts that are replicable and hold valuable lessons for other states.
· Bold and courageous policies, including existing approaches that have a significant impact on student achievement in the state.
· Policies or programs that have bipartisan, broad-based support.
The award is given by the Education Coalition of the States, the only nationwide, non-partisan education policy organization devoted to education from pre-K to postsecondary.
From KDE