Harlan Independent School District ranked fifteenth out of Kentucky’s 174 school districts on the Kentucky Core Content test in 2009 according to rankings released by the Kentucky Association of School Councils. HISD had a Transition Index score of 94. Harlan High School also ranked high, coming in seventeenth out of 230 high schools.
The 2009 scores reflect the hard work of our students and teachers and show marked improvement over those of previous years.
Districtwide, 79% of students scored proficient or distinguished in reading which exceeded the No Child Left Behind target by nineteen percentage points. The district academic index for reading was 102.5. 92% of tenth graders were proficient or distinguished and achieved an academic index of 112.7. 39% of the group scored distinguished. Students in Grades 4 and 7 also achieved academic indices of over 100.
In math, 68% of students districtwide scored proficient and distinguished, up from 64% in 2008, exceeding the NCLB target again by nineteen percentage points. Third graders had the highest academic index: 110.4, and students in Grades 4, 6, and 7 also broke 100. The district index was 93.1. 45% of third graders achieved a score of distinguished as did 37% of fourth graders.
70% of students districtwide scored proficient or distinguished in science with an academic index of 96.5. The seventh grade led the way with 81% proficient or distinguished and an academic index of 106.3. 33% of the group scored distinguished. Fourth graders were close behind with an academic index of 104.4.
The percentage of proficient and distinguished scores in social studies increased by five percentage points across the district, going from 53% in 2008 to 58% in 2009 with an academic index of 85.8 . Eighth grade students had the highest academic index, 93.0, but fifth grade scores showed the greatest improvement, going from 39% proficient and distinguished in 2008 to 53% in 2009.
On-demand writing scores overall showed much improvement over 2008. The percentage of students scoring proficient and distinguished moved from 39% to 50% in Grade 5, and districtwide from 45% to 54%. Although showing a drop from 2008, the twelfth grade continued to have the highest academic index score: 90.8. The district score was 86.9.
Expansion of reading and math testing to include Grades 3-8 for No Child Left Behind accountability has made it possible to track student progress longitudinally in reading and math . We are proud of students in the Class of 2014 who have made steady improvement in reading and in math over the past three years, with a higher percentage of proficient and distinguished scores each year. Members of the Class of 2015 are also to be commended for three years of steady improvement in math; they have shown the greatest improvement overall going from 44% proficient and distinguished in 2007 to 72% in 2009. They also had higher reading scores in 2009 than two years ago. Members of the Class of 2013 had higher reading and math scores in 2009 than in 2007 as did the Class of 2016 in math.
Although the district met the Annual Measurable Objectives for NCLB for reading and math, we failed to make Adequate Yearly Progress due to a marked drop in the graduation rate which used data from the Class of 2008. The NCLB target was 84.50 and our 2007 rate was 86.36. Due to a relatively small graduating class and a spike in the number of dropouts, the 2008 rate fell to 78.18. However, we anticipate that the rate for 2009 will be back in the 80s.
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