Newly released results from the No Child Left Behind and Kentucky Core Content tests show Kentucky students are still performing below national averages. Only 43% of Kentucky schools met all of the Federal No Child left behind requirements. Overall, 489 public schools in Kentucky made Adequate Yearly Progress compared to 640 schools last year. This could be the last year Kentucky students take the test, now administered in the spring. The state is requesting a waiver from the federal testing while Congress works on improvements.

Kentucky Core Content test results show improvements are being made, but there is still much work to do. In Fayette County, students outpaced state averages for students scoring at the proficient or distinguished level. Elementary school students improved in Social Studies and Writing. Middle schools students saw gains in scores on the Math, Science, Social Studies, and Writing on demand portions of the test. For Fayette County high school students, Reading, Math, Science and Social Studies were all areas where scores improved.

Despite these gains, fewer than half of Fayette County's high school students actually scored at the proficient or distinguised levels in any of the tested categories. New Fayette County Superintendent, Tom Shelton, says the results shows there is work to do to bridge the achievement gap in the district. He says educators need to work to find the most effective way to educate every child, saying traditional classroom settings aren't always the most effective method. This is the final year for the Kentucky Core Content Test. It will be replaced next year by the "K-Prep" test. Kentucky students will take the "K-Prep" for the first time this spring. "K-Prep" will be based on new, tougher core content standards.