SPRINGFIELD, Ky. — As Kentucky releases its 2025-26 Kentucky Summative Assessment (KSA) results, Washington County Schools is examining student performance across its schools to identify strengths, address areas of need and strengthen instruction. While the results highlight meaningful accomplishments in several areas, they also underscore the work that remains to ensure every student is making progress toward academic proficiency. School leaders are using the data to guide instructional decisions, identify students who need additional support and refine strategies to improve student outcomes. From continued strengths in middle school mathematics to improvements in school climate and safety, the results offer important insight into both the progress being made and the challenges that require continued attention.

Kentucky’s school accountability system considers both current student achievement and changes in performance from the previous year. Under this calculation, even a small decrease in student assessment results can lead to a larger decrease in an accountability indicator score and, in some cases, a change in the school’s color rating. As a result, changes in indicator scores and color ratings may not always reflect the same degree of change in actual student performance. When reviewing accountability results, it is important to consider both the indicator scores and the underlying student achievement data to gain a complete understanding of school performance and progress.

 

At Washington County Elementary School (WCES), academic results declined slightly across reading, math, science, social studies and writing, while the school maintained its overall performance color. WCES Principal Lena Bramblett said the school is already making instructional adjustments to address areas of need. “While we always strive to improve our academic outcomes, we recognize the importance of using data to reflect, learn, and make meaningful changes,” Bramblett said. “We have already begun implementing instructional changes focused on strengthening classroom instruction, improving student engagement, and ensuring our students receive the support and challenge they need to succeed.”

The school did see an increase in its climate and culture survey results, highlighting the school’s commitment to creating an environment where students feel safe, valued, supported and ready to learn. “We are encouraged by this growth because strong relationships and a positive school culture are essential to student success,” said Bramblett. “We also recognize that student success is a shared responsibility. We are committed to linking arms with our families to provide practical academic supports at home that reinforce classroom learning and help every child grow. By working together, monitoring student progress, and continually refining our instructional practices, we can ensure every student has the opportunity to reach their full potential.”

At North Washington Elementary School, the middle grades overall rating moved from green to yellow, largely due to declines in science, social studies and combined writing. Reading and mathematics remained a strength, with the indicator score increasing and maintaining a blue rating. School climate and safety also improved.

At the elementary level, the overall rating remained orange, with a decline in the overall score. Science, social studies and combined writing held relatively steady, while reading and mathematics declined. School climate and safety improved from an orange rating to green, with an increased score.

NWES Principal Tyler Campbell emphasized the importance of strengthening core instruction and using data to guide the school's work. “This data reinforces the importance of the instructional changes we have made this year to protect and support Tier 1 instruction, strengthen our professional learning communities, and be data- and goal-driven in everything we do,” Campbell said. We are proud of our middle school’s strength in reading and mathematics and the improvement in school climate and safety across our building. We also see opportunities to build on this foundation, and we are committed to ensuring every student receives strong core instruction. We will keep partnering with our families and community to help every child grow. We are all in for learning.”

Middle school results highlighted strengths in mathematics at Washington County Middle School (WCMS), exceeding the statewide mathematics proficiency rate of 40% with WCMS reaching 54%. Across the district's middle grades, 55% of students scored Proficient or Distinguished in both reading and mathematics, compared with 48% statewide in reading and 40% in mathematics. The district's middle grades also exceeded statewide proficiency percentages in combined writing and science. At WCMS, reading and mathematics proficiency reached their highest levels in five years. The school also reduced the percentage of students scoring Novice in science, mathematics and social studies.

WCMS Principal Mandy Sagrecy said the school’s results reflect a year of focused, intentional work in every grade level and content area. “We are excited about the growth our students showed this year, and these results belong to our whole General family,” said Sagrecy. “Reading and math proficiency are both at their highest levels in five years, and we cut novice in science, math, and social studies. I am so proud of our students, who came to school each day ready to work. I am grateful for our teachers and staff, who planned with purpose, studied their data, and refused to settle for ‘good enough’ for any child. And I thank our families, whose support and partnership made a real difference. We also know we are not finished. We want every student to be proficient in every content area, and we have more work to do. We will keep working to reduce the number of students scoring novice in every content area, with particular attention to our identified gap groups. Every student deserves the opportunity to succeed, and we will keep working to make sure that happens.”

At Washington County High School (WCHS), graduation and postsecondary readiness remain notable accomplishments. The district's graduation indicator score was 98.4, compared with 94.7 statewide, while WCHS earned a graduation indicator score of 97.6. The district's postsecondary readiness status score exceeded the statewide score. Combined writing was another area of strength at WCHS. At the same time, school leaders recognize the need to strengthen academic performance in core content areas. The school's leadership team is implementing strategies designed to identify student needs earlier, monitor individual progress and ensure that interventions are effective.

“At Washington County High School, our students, families and staff give us a lot to be proud of,” said WCHS principal Eric Sagrecy. “Our graduation rate and postsecondary readiness are both rated ‘very high’, our school climate is rated green, and nearly one in three students is enrolled in dual credit courses. Our students enter high school well-prepared, and our community support is amazing.  All that said, we have work to do.  Our overall score shows that too many students lose ground in our core content studies.  We have amazing students and staff that are capable of great things, but we know the work must be done first.  We’re acting on that now. As the new principal, along with our staff, we are working to change and cultivate a culture of learning and accountability for everyone: students, staff and administration. That means daily support through our new MTSS block, tracking individual student growth, identifying students in need earlier and creating checks to make sure our interventions are delivered well and working. I'm going to work relentlessly to make sure WCHS’s best years are ahead, and I look forward to the growth to come next fall.”

“We recognize that there is significant opportunity for growth across our district, and we are approaching that work with both urgency and optimism,” said Chief Academic Officer Holly Elmore. “Our focus is not simply on identifying gaps, but on ensuring that we have the right instructional systems in place to address them effectively. This year, we have sharpened our strategic focus on implementing high-quality instructional resources with integrity in reading and mathematics, restructuring our professional learning community process to place a stronger emphasis on standards-based data analysis, and strengthening our intervention structures so that students who are not yet performing at grade level receive timely, targeted and high-impact support. We know meaningful improvement does not happen through a single initiative or in a single year. It comes from consistent, aligned work across classrooms, schools and the district. We are committed to supporting our teachers and leaders, monitoring the impact of our instructional decisions, and making adjustments when needed so that every student has the opportunity to make meaningful academic growth.”

“As superintendent, I am proud of our students, our staff and the many ways our schools support the whole child,” said Superintendent Dr. Robin Cochran. “However, I also have to be honest: I am disappointed that our academic results do not consistently reflect the ability and potential I see in our students. I know how capable our children are, and I believe they can achieve at higher levels. We should celebrate the progress we make, but we cannot allow celebration to replace reflection, or allow our current results to define what we believe is possible. Our students deserve for us to expect more, to believe more is possible and to do the work necessary to make it happen. Washington County Schools has earned meaningful recognition for creating welcoming, supportive and relationship-centered learning environments, including recognition of all our schools as GOLD family-friendly through the Prichard Committee’s Family Friendly Schools initiative. That work matters. Strong relationships, a sense of belonging and a supportive school culture are essential to helping children thrive. We must now ensure that the strength of those supports is matched by equally strong academic outcomes. We are working to better understand why our academic results do not consistently reflect the positive conditions we have worked so hard to establish. We must examine our instructional practices, how we use data, how we respond when students struggle and how effectively we challenge students who are ready for more. We cannot assume that caring for children and creating the conditions for success will automatically produce the academic results they deserve. We must intentionally connect those conditions to excellent instruction, meaningful learning and measurable growth. We are investing in the work necessary to close that gap. That includes personalized learning and development for our school leaders, continued professional learning for our staff, high-quality instructional resources in reading and mathematics, and stronger professional learning community structures that help teachers analyze standards-based data and respond to student needs. We are strengthening our systems for identifying students who need additional support, monitoring their growth and ensuring that our interventions make a difference. These investments matter, but what matters most is their impact in the classroom and on student learning. We must be willing to examine our results honestly, adjust our practices when something is not working and hold ourselves accountable for continuous improvement. We also have much to celebrate across our district. Our elementary schools are building the academic foundations, relationships and learning habits that students carry with them throughout their educational journey. North Washington Elementary School has demonstrated strengths in reading and mathematics at the middle grades, along with improvement in school climate and safety. Washington County Elementary School continues to prioritize student engagement, a positive school culture and instructional adjustments designed to meet students’ needs. At Washington County Middle School, we are encouraged by the progress in reading and mathematics, including proficiency levels at their highest points in five years. These results demonstrate what focused, intentional work can accomplish, and we should recognize the students and educators who made that progress possible. At Washington County High School, graduation, postsecondary readiness, dual credit participation and the school’s positive climate are important strengths. We must build on these accomplishments while addressing the academic challenges that remain. Ultimately, we are one school system, not a collection of individual schools working in isolation. What happens in each building matters to every building that follows. The academic foundation established in elementary school influences success in middle school, and the knowledge, skills and habits developed throughout a student’s educational journey shape what is possible at Washington County High School and beyond. All roads lead to the opportunities and outcomes we want for our graduates, and we share responsibility for preparing every student to reach them. Our successes must be shared, and so must our responsibility for addressing the areas where we fall short. I will always be proud of our students and grateful for the educators and staff members who show up for them every day. But pride in our people does not mean we should be satisfied with results that fall short of their potential. We owe our students, families and community both the belief that they can achieve great things and the commitment to do the work that makes those achievements possible. I want our students to expect more of themselves, our families and community to expect more from us, and our staff and leaders to feel both supported and challenged to continually improve. We are not looking for quick fixes or excuses. We are committed to doing the difficult, consistent work of getting better. We can celebrate who we are, acknowledge where we are and remain determined about where we are going. Our students are capable of more, and we have a responsibility to help them get there by being ACADEMICALLY Commander Ready.”

For more information and to view Washington County Schools’ School Report Card, visit https://www.education.ky.gov/Open-House/Pages/default.aspxSchool Report Card .