Snapshot of Kentucky Education

So what is the state of Kentucky public education? According to the Bluegrass Institute: Only 1 of 4 8th graders are considered proficient on the NAEP test; 3 of 10 kids who begin 9th grade are not graduating; Black males who graduate have the equivalent of an 8th grade education; And 45% of Kentucky's college-bound seniors are taking remedial classes their freshman year.

These stats hardly sound like success.

However, there is an effort in the General Assembly to turn these statistics around. HB 63--the public school academies bill would give parents an alternative to schools that are failing their children. HB 63 would create charter schools which essentially cut through the red tape of the educational bureaucracy and give teachers more control in the classroom. Forty-five states have charter schools. If Kentucky is serious about climbing out of the basement of educational proficiency perhaps the first rung on the ladder is passing HB 63.