Kentucky Department of Education (KDE)

Kentucky Department of Education

1930 Capital Plaza Tower

500 Mero Street

Frankfort, Kentucky 40601

Phone: (502) 564-4770
Fax:   (502) 564-6470
URL: http://www.kde.state.ky.us/

Information Line, Concerns/Questions:

Kay Anne Wilborn
(800) 533-5372 -- KY residents only
E-Mail: kwilborn@kde.state.ky.us

Take a look at the Kentucky Department of Education's site map to maneuver around the site or use the search engine at the top of their page. The Department provides numerous important resources (many more than can be linked here). Spend some time exploring the Department's web site. See especially the Publications & Videos section linked from the KDE home page. Below are a few other resources.

• Commonwealth Accountability Testing System (CATS)
  
• How to Develop a Standards-Based Unit of Study
  
• Open-Response Questions in the Classroom Click on Instructional Resources, Curriculum Documents & Resources, then Connecting Curriculum, Instruction & Assessment
  
• Transformations: Kentucky's Curriculum Framework: "Published in two volumes, provides direction to local schools and districts as they develop curriculum. It offers further explanation of the academic expectations, suggestions on teaching and learning strategies, and multiple resources to assist with the development of curriculum and units of study."
  
• Program of Studies: "This document outlines the minimum content required for all students before graduating from Kentucky high schools in the Class of 2002. This document specifies only the content for the fifteen required credits for high school graduation and primary, intermediate, and middle level programs leading to these requirements. It explains what is to be taught by reference into regulation, and therefore, it is required to be used by Kentucky educators." Go to the KDE
  
  • Implementation Manual for the Program of Studies
    
• Kentucky Teacher is published "nine times a year to communicate directly with the state's 40,000 public school teachers. Each issue of this award-winning publication includes news, perspectives, and practical, workable ideas for guiding students to higher levels of achievement."
  
• There is extensive coverage and explanation of Core Content for Assessment, described as "the content that has been identified as essential for all students to know and that which will be included on the state assessment for Reading, Writing, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Arts and Humanities, Practical Living, and Vocational Studies"
  
• Kentucky Teaching and Learning Conference
  
• Education Reform Research / Reports Click on Administrative Resources
  
• Road Ahead: Uncertainty and Opportunity in a Changed World (2002)
  
• Family Resource & Youth Centers -- See About Us for statistics
• And many others!

Other Reforming States' Departments of Education

• Florida Department of Education
  • School Improvement and Accountability Information
    
• Georgia Department of Education
  
• Louisiana Department of Education
  
• Massachusetts Department of Education
  • Education Reform
    
• Oregon Department of Education

United States Department of Education

Naturally, the United States Department of Education provides an abundance of education-related sources (again, more than I could ever link to here). As with Kentucky, I suggest you explore the U.S. web site thoroughly on your own. Much of interest and value may be discovered. Below are some examples of the vast quantity of information available.

• ED Pubs On-Line Ordering System

  This new system is intended to help you identify and order U.S. Department of Education products. Please use the searching options below to identify the specific products you are seeking. Individuals may order up to five different products per order, free of charge.
  

• Search ERIC digests using the search phrase +kentucky +education +reform.
  ERIC Digests are great time-savers, and are highly recommended because they are...
  • short reports (1,000 - 1,500 words) on topics of prime current interest in education;
  • targeted specifically for teachers, administrators, policymakers, and other practitioners, but generally useful to the broad educational community;
  • designed to provide an overview of information on a given topic, plus references to items providing more detailed information;
  • produced by the 16 subject-specialized ERIC Clearinghouses, and reviewed by experts and content specialists in the field;
  • funded by the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI), of the U.S. Department of Education (ED).

• Search ERIC at the U. S. Department of Education's web site. Both ERIC Documents (ED) and ERIC journal articles (EJ) are indexed. Many ERIC Documents (ED) are available full text (in Adoble Acrobat) on the web site. ERIC journal articles (EJ) are available in citation format only. Check your local library for the journals.

   

• Online publications:
  • "A Glass Half Empty or Half Full? An Overview of the State School Funding Landscape in Kentucky 1990-2008" by the Pritchard Committee for Academic Excellence
  • "State-Level Cost Analyses: Kentucky Case Study"
  • "Profiles of the Regional Educational Laboratories: Appalachia Educational Laboratory (AEL)"
  • "Family Involvement in Children's Education - October 1997: Cane Run Elementary School: A Parent-Friendly, Family Focused Urban School: Jefferson County Public Schools: Louisville, Kentucky"
  • "GOALS 2000: A Progress Report - Fall 1996: How a GOALS 2000 Approach Works"
  • "Implementing Schoolwide Projects - May 1994: Integrating School Restructuring with Other Reforms: Hazelwood Elementary School: Louisville, Kentucky"
  • i"Education Reforms and Students At Risk: Findings and Recommendations: Volume 1"
  • "Jefferson County Public Schools: Louisville, Kentucky: Case Summary"
  • "Assessment of School-Based Management"
  • Educational Resources for All States and Territories (postal addresses, e-mail addresses, phone numbers, fax numbers, URLs)
  • Education Statistics Quarterly, from the National Center for Education Statistics

    "The Quarterly offers an accessible, convenient overview of all NCES products released in a given quarter. Each issue includes: short publications (those less than 15 pages in length) in their entirety, executive summaries of longer publications, descriptive paragraphs of other NCES products, and notices about training and funding opportunities. In addition, each issue includes a featured publication with invited commentary pieces, a note on a current topic from a staff member, and a message from NCES."

  • Digest of Education Statistics, from the National Center for Education Statistics

    "The Digest provides a compilation of statistical information covering the broad field of American education from kindergarten through graduate school. The Digest includes more than 400 tables from many sources, both government and private, and draws especially on the results of surveys and activities carried out by NCES. The publication contains information on a variety of subjects in the field of education including educational attainment; federal funds for education; and numbers of schools, colleges, teachers and students."

  • Condition of Education, from the National Center for Education Statistics

    "The Condition of Education is an annual report to Congress which focuses on 60 indicators, representing a consensus of professional judgment on the most significant national measures of the condition and progress of education at the time, but tempered, necessarily, by the availability of current and valid information."

• Search the Database of U.S. Department of Education Publications in ERIC by entering "Kentucky Education Reform Act 1990" in the "IDENTIFIERS" field. You don't get the text of the publications, but you get citation information, an abstract, and the opportunity to order them.
  
• In his testimony before the Committee on Economic and Educational Opportunities, dated June 29, 1995, U.S. Department of Education Secretary Richard W. Riley refers positively to Kentucky reforms.
  
• Search the U.S. Department of Education WWW Server for documents. Use quotation marks around your search terms or specify in your search that the words are a phrase by pulling down the drop down menu box and selecting phrase. (NOTE: our search for "kentucky education reform" produced 26 results; our search for KERA produced 50 results). Note that there are many options for searching, along with directions. You can also search a cross-site index of 150+ Web sites funded by the Department of Education.
  
• Produced by the Office of Research, Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI), various consumer guides are available, explaining such KERA-related topics as performance assessment, school-based management, and mentoring.

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