Bowling Green Celebrates High Graduation Rates in Recent Assessments
Bowling Green is buzzing with excitement as schools report impressive graduation rates from the last academic year! The recent state assessment released by the Kentucky Department of Education has shown that both the Bowling Green Independent School District (BGISD) and the Warren County Public School system (WCPS) are performing exceptionally well.
Outstanding Graduation Rates
Starting with BGISD, the graduation rate for Bowling Green High School for the 2022-23 school year was an astonishing 98.3%! The school achieved a 97.5% rate on its four-year cohort graduation rate. This specific measure indicates how many students managed to stay in high school and graduate over four years. To put this into perspective, Kentucky’s overall four-year graduation rate for the same year was 91.4%. “That’s not easy,” commented BGISD Superintendent Gary Fields, emphasizing the hard work that goes into guiding students to this achievement. “I think it shows we’re getting kids there, to the end of the line, for that stage of their career.”
On the other hand, Warren County’s graduation rate also showed a positive trend, climbing 1.5 percentage points to an impressive 96.9% compared to the previous year, demonstrating measurable growth in the area.
Implementation of State Assessments
These figures come from the release of the annual accountability and assessment data on October 3, mandated by the Every Student Succeeds Act and Kentucky’s Senate Bill 158. The assessment encompasses various subjects, including reading, mathematics, science, and more. For high school students, additional metrics such as postsecondary readiness and graduation rates are also included. However, it’s important to note that this state assessment is just one of several measures used to gauge student progress.
Both BGISD and WCPS have their in-house assessments, helping to track students’ learning and performance more closely. BGISD conducts classroom assessments, unit assessments, and diagnostic iReady assessments—something that fields say informs their instructional work moving forward. Fields mentioned, “Anytime we get assessment data in the fall, we dive into it and evaluate it.” They regularly have meetings with principals and their leadership teams to discuss findings from various data sources.
Plans for the Future
WCPS holds similar practices, performing three diagnostic assessments annually. Superintendent Rob Clayton explained the importance of these assessments by saying, “Those daily formative assessments really drive the teaching and learning in terms of how we respond, how we intervene, or in some cases provide enrichment opportunities for our students.” He noted that while the KSA is just a momentary snapshot, it should not deter their established focus. “We’re going to continue to prioritize literacy across the district,” he added confidently.
Inclusive Education and Achievements
WCPS is also celebrating another milestone: an increase in the number of high school students deemed “Postsecondary Ready,” reaching 89.2%. They experienced significant improvements among their special education and multilingual populations, which are vital demographics representing about 15% and one-third of their student body, respectively. Clayton noted, “To see that growth in that particular area, obviously that’s a large impact on the district.”
Understanding the Data
It’s worth mentioning that while these assessments show impressive statistics, the data doesn’t track individual students’ growth year over year. As BGISD Director of Communications Leslie McCoy pointed out, “When you talk about change and growth, a lot of this data considers completely different groups of students from year to year.”
As Bowling Green continues to celebrate and reflect on these outcomes, both BGISD and WCPS remain committed to fostering educational excellence. They are undoubtedly on the right path to creating a brighter future for their students.
