Kentucky Department of Education to pilot CTL's new closing the achievement gap model

August 16, 2005

CTL has entered into a partnership agreement with the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) to make “Closing the Gap,” a professional development resource, available to KDE staff to use in seven low performing schools over a one-year period. This agreement enables key KDE staff to pilot a resource they can adapt to fit the needs of each school in helping them to address achievement gap issues. The need to close performance gaps among student populations remains a critical national need, especially given the targets set by the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation which says that schools must ensure that all students learn.

In Kentucky, performance gaps exist in nearly every school in the state, even those schools that typically score high on the statewide CATS assessment. In response to the need for effective tools to aid schools in addressing performance gaps among their student populations, CTL designed a teacher- and administrator-friendly tool for helping educators address head-on their perceptions of young learners from varied backgrounds. The tool provides scenarios and accompanying training materials for educators to use to address barriers to understanding cultural and social differences among students and the ways these students learn.

KDE personnel included in the pilot include highly skilled educators and GAP coordinators from across the state. These educators attended a two-day training session on the tool conducted by CTL, and began implementing its use in May 2005.

The pilot will continue through March 2006, and will inform improvements in the tool for use in the future.

For more information, contact:
Dr. Deborah Walker
v: 502.895.9500 x328