The executive director of the citizen’s advocacy group the Pritchard Committee is voicing concerns over the new statewide student testing regime being used in Kentucky.
Stu Silberman says he hasn’t fully bought into all aspects of the new accountability system.
Kentucky students took the K-Prep exams for the first time last year. K-Prep stands for “Kentucky Performance Rating for Educational Progress”, and is based on national common core curricula, which creates common standards for subjects such as math, English, science, and social studies. But Kentucky legislators chose to instead adopt a so-called “quality core” model from ACT Inc.
Silberman, a former Daviess County schools superintendent, was quoted in the Messenger-Inquirer as saying “I’m not sure if what we assessed was exactly Common Core. To me, the jury’s still out.”
Silberman is calling on state business leaders to support new education initiatives through internships, grants, and community involvement. Silberman points out the Bluegrass State has made great strides in education reform in recent years, moving from the bottom of many education rankings to as high as fourth in the nation in fourth-grade science.
