Students in Northern Kentucky's public schools are doing more than just making the grade on a basic skills test.

        The state Department of Education released results today showing that Kentucky's students are making “slow but steady progress” on the standardized test.

        They continue to perform better than state and national averages on the 2002 Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills, which tests in reading, language arts and math. And for the first time, Kentucky students have performed above the national averages in each of the three areas.

        Hunt Helm, associate commissioner in the office of communications, said students' scores are improving, “but we have a long way to go, though.

        “We are really gratified that our scores are going up on this and other measures of student achievement,” he said, “but this also tells us what's going on in each school. This helps us know which schools are in need of more improvement.”

        However, the improved scores will have a limited impact on state funding for schools, because the scores account for 5 percent of Kentucky's overall testing system.

        Most school accountability scores - comprised of test scores and other indicators - come from the state's own content test. These scores are due out in September.

        Third-, sixth- and ninth-graders took the test in April. Reported in percentiles on a scale of 1 to 99, each school's score reflects what percentage of students nationally the school outperformed. The national norm is 50.

        Kentucky's third-graders showed the biggest gains, improving their average scores from the 58th to the 60th percentile overall. Sixth- and ninth-graders' scores improved from 52 to 53 and 50 to 51.

        Fort Thomas continued its reign as Northern Kentucky's top-performing school district. The 2,300-student district posted the best scores for all grades and all subjects.

        John Williamson, assistant superintendent for teaching and learning in the Fort Thomas School District, said students and teachers “have once again risen to the occasion to put us at the top in Northern Kentucky. As you look at the state scores, some school districts are reaching our performance level, and in some cases, exceeding our performance level.

        In contrast, Covington Independent Schools saw its total scores drop among sixth- and ninth-graders, placing the 4,600-student district's status among the lowest-performing in the region.

        Ninth District Elementary School's third-graders, who made gains for the past two years, saw their scores fall in each of the three categories. To the district's credit, however, scores at Two Rivers Elementary and Holmes High School improved or remained the same in each category. In fact, Two Rivers showed the biggest jump in the district, moving from the 20th to the 35th percentile.

        Superintendent Jack Moreland acknowledged that educators aren't comfortable with the scores, but said the focus has been on boosting scores on other parts of the Commonwealth Accountability Testing System (CATS).

        “So it's understandable that we wouldn't make the same kind of progress that we've made in the CATS testing,” Mr. Moreland said. “If we have to select one or the other, we're going to concentrate on (the part of CATS that makes up) 95 percent, as opposed to the (CTBS, which makes up) 5 percent.”

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