Kentucky students took the Kentucky Summative Assessment (KSA) in the Spring of 2022. The tests were developed by Kentucky teachers and align with the Kentucky Academic Standards (KAS) in each content area.
KSA is the annual summative assessment given in grades 3 through 8, 10 and 11 to Kentucky public school students. KSA provides content area assessments, including reading and mathematics (grades 3 through 8 and 10), science (grades 4, 7, 11), on-demand writing and editing and mechanics (grades 5, 8, 11), and social studies (grades 5, 8, 11).
These assessments are Kentucky’s measure of student proficiency and progress on the state content standards. These standards establish goals for what all students should know and be able to do in each grade. The KSA was given online with only a small percentage of students testing on paper. This assessment goes beyond multiple-choice questions. It includes questions where students can demonstrate critical thinking and problem-solving skills, and extended response questions where students construct a response or answer with a technology-enhanced response.
This annual assessment provides critical information about student learning, but no single assessment should ever be the sole factor in making an educational decision. It is important to remember that assessments provide only one measure of student learning. When combined with grades, classroom activities, student projects, personalized learning opportunities, and school and district-level measures and processes, the end-of-year assessments can help provide a more complete picture of your child’s abilities over the course of the school year and path toward academic success on these content standards.
For KSA, students receive a separate scale score (400-600 for all content areas: reading, mathematics, science, social studies, editing and mechanics and on-demand writing) along with a performance level (distinguished, proficient, apprentice, and novice). Combined writing will be assigned a performance level only (no scale score.) Scale scores are reported as numbers, while performance levels are descriptive. The performance level descriptors (PLDs) are different by content area and describe student performance on groups of items that measure similar skills. PLDs for each grade and content area are available for review on the KSA website at https://education.ky.gov/AA/Assessments/Pages/KentuckySummativeAssessment-.aspx. The Individual Student Reports also contain more information about the performance levels in each area.
State assessments are one of several strategies to better understand how students performed academically as part of Johnson Central High School’s COVID-19 experience and now academic recovery efforts. The data provides a point-in-time “temperature check” that allows districts additional data to better track and address students’ academic needs. It provides a consistent state-wide starting point for academic recovery from COVID-19’s impact.
To view the performance and participation of our school, visit the online School Report Card at http://www.kyschoolreportcard.com/.