(LEXINGTON, Ky.) – The Bluegrass Institute today releases an important report about Kentucky’s Unbridled Learning school accountability program.

“Kentucky’s Unbridled Learning School Assessment Program: Can we trust what it’s telling us about schools?” authored by Bluegrass Institute staff education analyst Richard Innes highlights important performance issues missing from the state’s newest assessment program.

The report provides dramatic examples of how Unbridled Learning is sometimes awarding top accountability ratings to school that have significant problems.

Some of the examples highlighted in the report include:

• Schools getting top Unbridled Learning classifications of “Distinguished” despite massive achievement gaps for racial minorities.

• A school rated as “Proficient” and ranked at the 87th percentile of performance for all schools at the same time an audit calls for the removal of the principal.

• Schools getting no flags for poor performance despite zero percent proficiency rates in important academic subjects.

Despite these deficiencies in the program, Innes recommends fixing, not eliminating, the assessment program.

“As with all Bluegrass Institute reports, Richard’s new study of the Unbridled Learning program doesn’t just highlight problems, but also offers suggestions for improvement,” Bluegrass Institute president Jim Waters said. “Innes makes it clear that Unbridled Learning has a lot of good features, and fixes for most problems are largely very manageable and practical to implement.”

For interview information, please contact Jim Waters at 270-320-4376 or jwaters@freedomkentucky.com or Richard Innes at 859-466-8198 or dines@freedomkentucky.com.

The report is available online here: Unbridled Learning -- Can we trust what it tells us about Kentucky's schools? -- Final Version

The Kentucky Department of Education is currently surveying the public for suggestions on improving Unbridled Learning. You can add your suggestions at this surveymonkey web page.