Every year, the Kentucky Department of Education releases report cards to assess the performance of the schools and school districts in the state. The report cards summarize data on the standing of a school or district in assessment, finance, delivery targets, and other related metrics.

Each school is given an achievement score on a hundred-point scale. The achievement score takes into account the school’s reading and mathematics scores on the Kentucky Performance Rating for Educational Progress (K-PREP) tests. The K-PREP tests are administered annually to students in grades three through eight and eleven.

The achievement scores for the schools in Jefferson County were split by school level and plotted by zip code. When there was more than one school in a zip code, the scores were averaged.

There is a notable difference between the achievement scores of southern zip codes and northern zip codes in Jefferson County – regardless of the school level. The difference is especially prominent in the middle and high school maps. The schools with lower achievement scores tend to be west of Third Street or south of the Watterson Expressway. Among elementary schools, the south western school scores average around forty to fifty – well below the district elementary average of 61.6 points. The north eastern elementary schools’ scores are closer to eighty. Middle schools below the Watterson Expressway tend to have achievement scores averaging in the forties, while the averages of those above the expressway are mostly between seventy and eighty points. High schools located south of the Watterson Expressway have achievement scores averaging in the mid-forties; although the scores of the high schools north of the expressway vary, they tend to be greater. The district averages for middle and high schools are 57.9 and 58.6, respectively. The middle and high schools south of the Watterson Expressway have consistently lower scores than the corresponding district averages.

The range of the absolute scores in Jefferson County is also striking. The highest scoring elementary school (Shyrock Traditional) received 100.0 points, while the lowest scoring elementary school (Maupin Elementary) received 20.2 points. There was a 67.8 point difference between the highest scoring middle school (J. Graham Brown School) and the lowest scoring middle school (Valley High). The lowest scoring high school scored 70.1 points below the highest scoring high school. The lowest scoring schools in each school level are located west of Third Street.

Middle School Achievement by Zip Code

Elementary School Achievement by Zip Code

Full Breakdown Available Here

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