McCreary County principals report test-score gains, spotlight reading and social‑studies work

Superintendent Crowell opened the district’s Dec. 17 presentation to the McCreary County Board of Education by thanking the board and recognizing outgoing member Stacy Hammond, then turned the meeting over to school principals who summarized fall assessment results and next steps.

The presentations showed multiple schools posted year‑over‑year gains on district and national benchmark assessments. One principal said her school’s indicator score rose from 71.3 last year to 83.6 this year and described reading and math proficiency increases that moved the school to “blue” status on the state indicator scale. Another principal reported a 12 percentage‑point gain in students meeting NWEA benchmark between last fall and this fall across several grade levels.

Why it matters: Board members and administrators said the gains reflect sustained instructional work across the district — common assessments, PLCs (professional learning communities), interventions such as RTI/MTSS, and several literacy strategies — but that continued attention is required in social studies and extended‑response items to maintain or improve the district’s color‑coded accountability status.

Presenters attributed part of the reading gains to a districtwide writing strategy called RACE (Restate, Answer, Cite, Explain) and to targeted interventions including UFLY, Save the Children programs, corrective reading, and in‑school ESS tutoring. One principal described adding daily mini‑lessons in rotation classes, building 150 minutes of daily core reading instruction in third grade (100 minutes in fourth and fifth), and embedding reading instruction in science and social studies lessons so students gain the literacy skills needed for multi‑source extended responses.

Several speakers noted assessment changes ahead and the effect of automated scoring. “We had our teachers put short answers and rubrics into AI, and the AI gave feedback showing what vocabulary and structure students needed to reach proficient or distinguished,” a principal said, describing classroom adjustments made after staff experimentations with automated scoring. Administrators said they are training teachers to align classroom scoring with the ways the district’s state assessments are now scored.

Principals also described nonacademic programs they link to academic success: Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports (PBIS) with school‑wide expectations, motivational assemblies, after‑school STEM and reading clubs, and community partnerships for family support. One principal said a school‑level climate and safety survey rose by eight points this year.

Board members asked about the district’s readiness for upcoming accountability changes and whether current growth points are sustainable; presenters acknowledged some growth points were “low‑hanging fruit” and said districtwide standard deconstruction and strengthened PLC work are intended to sustain gains.

The meeting’s personnel and consent items were approved later in the session (see “Votes at a glance”).