The results of the 2008 Commonwealth Accountability and Testing System are in, and there is a lot to celebrate. The district has broken into the 90s for the first time in history – our overall score of 90.2 puts us within easy striking distance of the state goal of 100 by the year 2014! A record number of schools have also surpassed the 100 mark – nearly 40 percent of the schools in Fayette County are now performing above 100 – six years ahead of schedule.
I feel a little like the USA women’s gymnastics team during the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. If you recall, the U.S. women had a very successful run – in fact, the United States amassed its greatest medal haul since the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. The medal tally of 10 – two gold, six silver and two bronze – is the most earned by the USA in gymnastics in a non-boycotted Olympic Games. And the U.S. women won eight total medals (two gold, five silver and one bronze), topping China’s six (two gold and four bronze) and Romania’s two (one gold and one bronze).
Just like the gymnastics team, our district is judged for individual and team accomplishments. Just like the Olympic athletes, our schools and our district face high expectations in a public arena where there is no room for mistakes. Just like the Olympians, we have passion, we work with intensity, and we feel a tremendous amount of responsibility to bring home the gold.
In the CATS results, we see that we have many individual gold medal winners – 19 schools earned scores above 100 (up from three schools in 2005), which shows that students in those buildings are learning at high levels. An additional two schools posted double-digit gains in CATS performance, which shows that their efforts are accelerating the learning and making a difference for our kids. I think it’s fair to say that as a district, we brought home a silver medal this year. We made good gains and we had some huge accomplishments, but we have some areas of weakness – where we missed the landing or fell off the beam.
It is absolutely imperative that we serve every single student at every single school in our district at the highest possible levels. Every student is capable of achieving excellence, and our teachers, staff, administrators, parents and community are committed to helping them. We will be intensifying our efforts at the middle and high school levels to ensure that the gains we’ve seen at the elementary level are replicated at the upper grades.
Our principals are already meeting with their faculty and staff members to dig into the data and devise action plans. Our top district instructional leaders are committed to monthly monitoring visits in each of our five high schools. Our Board of Education members will be meeting with the leadership teams from each high school in the next two weeks. Student schedules are being adjusted to ensure that kids are taking the courses they need to prepare them for success.
We know our high schools are offering a world-class education – our senior ACT scores were the highest in recent history, surpassing both state and national averages; our junior ACT scores were the 8th highest in the state; we have two students who earned perfect ACT scores; and this year, for the first time in recent memory, all five of our high schools produced a National Merit Semifinalist.
Our high schools have top-notch offerings and are producing great results for a lot of kids. Our challenge is to make sure that every single student has the advantage of rigorous courses, innovative teaching and high expectations. Anything less is simply unacceptable. With the resources, talent and community support in Fayette County, I know that we will bring home the gold!
