1980s
Kentucky ranked 50th in the nation in adult literacy and
the percentage of adults with a high school diploma,
49th in percentage of college graduates, 42nd in per
pupil expenditure, and 41st in pupil- teacher ratio.
1985
66 poor school districts sued the state, arguing that
Kentucky’s financing of schools was inadequate and
inequitable.
1989
In Rose v. Council for Better Education, Inc., the
state’s Supreme Court declared Kentucky’s entire
system of common schools to be unconstitutional.
The General Assembly was ordered to recreate
funding of the state’s school system.
1990
The Kentucky General Assembly enacted the
Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA), sweeping
legislation that restructured and redefined the way
the state designed, delivered, governed and financed
education.
1998
The Commonwealth Accountability Testing System
(CATS) was enacted by the General Assembly to
address the concerns of educators, researchers and
policymakers about the value and effectiveness of
Kentucky Instructional Results Information System
(KIRIS) in improving student performance.
KENTUCKY
EDUCATION
THROUGH
THE YEARS
2000
The KIDS NOW initiative was passed by the Kentucky
General Assembly, addressing health care, family
assistance, quality education and community
involvement issues relating to early childhood.
2009
CATS was replaced by a system based on higher
academic standards mandated by the General Assembly.
Kentucky joined 47 other states to develop standards
that could be used in states across the nation.
2010
Kentucky’s three key educational governing boards
adopted higher standards in mathematics and English
language arts.
2011
Kentucky ranked 33 on the Index of Educational
Progress – up from 48 in 1990, an increase that
was more than almost any other state.
2016
The University of Kentucky’s Center for Business
and Economic Research studied attainment and
achievement factors of all state education systems,
finding that Kentucky is 29th across all states.
A
1 Generation of Education — June 2016
A Citizen’s Guide to Kentucky Education — June 2016