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Next Generation Leadership Academy
APPENDIX A
I.
College-/Career-Readiness Percentages. Kentucky has adopted specific guidelines
that equate to being “college- and career-ready” for state accountability purposes. To be
counted as college-/career-ready, high school students must score at a particular level on
designated tests or reach career and technical benchmarks. The scores that qualify a student
as college-ready include an ACT score of at least 20 in reading, 19 in math, and 18 in English
(36 is the highest ACT score possible); a benchmark score on COMPASS, which includes
college placement tests that evaluate reading, writing, and math skills; and/or benchmark
score on the Kentucky online testing system, or KYOTE, which is a web-based placement
program that uses standardized tests to measure college-preparedness. Tests that indicate
career-readiness include the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, or ASVAB, a
multiple-choice test to determine qualifications for enlistment in the armed forces; the
ACT Work Keys, an assessment that measures real-world skills in applied math, reading for
information, and locating information; the Kentucky Occupational Skills Standards Assessment
(KOSSA); and/or particular industry-based certifications.
The percentage of seniors who reach college- and career-readiness benchmarks is included in
each high school’s state accountability score and reported in the annual School Report Card.
Figure 3 shows how college-/career-readiness rates for districts that have participated in the
Next Generation Leadership Academy compare to all districts in the state.
II.
Graduation Rates. High school graduation rates are reported by KDE and include
public high schools only. Beginning in academic year 2012-13, the Averaged Freshman
Graduation Rate (AFGR) was replaced by the Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate. Kentucky
has received a great deal of national attention for much improved graduation rates in recent
years. Figure 4 compares NxGLA districts’ graduation rate to that of all other districts in the
state.