Education

Gov. Steve Beshear has signed an executive order that will couple the state's career and technical schools under the Department of Education. The goal is to create a unified and efficient system to better prepare students for blue collar careers.

WKU President Gary Ransdell says student retention will continue to be a top priority at the institution in the upcoming academic year and over the next six years. Speaking at the faculty and staff convocation in Van Meter Hall, the University President said the state and university can no longer afford to have about one thousand freshmen students per year fail to return for their second year of study.

Kentucky's public high school seniors scored higher on the ACT college entrance exam than a year ago, but their performance remained below the national average, education officials said Wednesday. The average composite ACT score rose to 19.5 for Kentucky's public high school Class of 2012, up from 19.2 in 2011, according to data released by the state Department of Education.