Twenty-nine kids left - an unexpectedly high number that hurt morale.

Now it turns out there was a mistake. Fourth Street's initial scores appeared unsatisfactory because they were based on partially graded tests. When the grading was finished, Fourth Street's numbers improved.

The school didn't have to offer transfers, after all. Those who transferred won't have to go back. "We didn't have to endure what we went through for the last seven weeks," Principal Jim Clinkenbeard said. "We made all 14 (test score) goals, with no apology from the state."

That's because the state had no control over what happened, said Lisa Gross, spokeswoman for the Kentucky Department of Education.

"I don't doubt this is a burden, but (districts) knew this was a possibility," she said.

Statewide, 78 schools were caught up in the confusion. Thirty-eight are like Fourth Street: Their status has been upgraded. The list includes Tichenor Middle School in Erlanger.

The other 40 schools went in the opposite direction: They had been satisfactory, and now they're not. Sixth District Elementary School in Covington falls into this category.

Here's what happened:

Every spring, Kentucky students take tests to determine how well their schools are doing. Results of the math and reading portions are now used by the federal government to judge whether various groups, including minority and disabled youngsters, are making adequate progress.

If not, certain schools - those that receive lots of federal money for low-income populations - must give students the option of transferring.

The transfers must be offered before the first day of school. But this year, Kentucky's tests weren't going to be graded on time by the state's contractor, so schools were judged solely on the results of multiple-choice questions.

Even then, Fourth Street's performance was almost good enough - only a handful of disabled fourth-graders fell short. Once their written answers were taken into account, the school met the standard.

E-mail kgutierrez@enquirer.com