Kentucky Educators’ Ultimate Guide to Prepare for K-PREP Testing

The Kentucky Performance Rating for Educational Progress (K-PREP) spring 2020 testing window begins in a few months. With testing season comes practice assessments, a dose of stress, and sometimes, conflicting information about academic standards. The good news is that a little research and planning can go a long way toward ensuring that you’re able to support your students to reach their full potential on the K-PREP test. We’ve gathered helpful, detailed, and relevant resources on K-PREP testing to help you put a test-preparation program into action.

K-PREP Testing Resources from the Kentucky Department of Education

The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) offers a wealth of knowledge to Kentucky educators with plenty of resources to sift through when preparing for state testing. Here are a few hand-picked resources we’ve gathered to get you started. 

K-PREP Assessments 
Information regarding the K-PREP assessment criteria can be found here, including performance level descriptors, reference sheets, and scoring guides and rubrics. This section also includes test administration manuals, staff guides, and several helpful links like K-PREP released items and a link to PearsonAccess^next Training.

Proficiency Dashboard (2018–19)
This Kentucky Center for Statistics (KYStats) report allows you to interactively search for the school and district of your choice and view proficiency rates for key subject areas. Visit the KYStats website for a complete list of reports full of data used for the purposes of evaluating education. The Kentucky Report Card is also a great resource provided by the KDE to view historical data, such as test performance, teacher qualifications, and awards.

Assessment and Accountability Resources
The Office of Standards, Assessment and Accountability (OSAA) has pulled together assessment and accountability resources, including cut scores for K-PREP, test blueprints, test format items and test times, and a link to PearsonAccess^next so that educators and parents can view K-PREP summary reports available for Kentucky schools and districts.

Assessment Support
The Division of Assessment and Accountability Support (DAAS) provides a collection of support resources with data for individuals looking for data analysis and interpretation. Resources include proficiency and separate academic indicators, measures of growth, transition readiness, and graduation rates.

Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)
Get familiarized with the Kentucky ESSA plan as described by the KDE, and follow the Understanding ESSA Kentucky page for Kentucky-specific updates compiled from multiple sources to provide you the latest ESSA news.

The ACT® Test
The latest news regarding  Kentucky’s required college admissions exam, the ACT test, can be found on this section of the KDE. Typically, the ACT test is mandatory for students in grades 10 and 11 to take, but the KDE was unable to secure additional funding for sophomores to take the ACT test in the spring of 2020—meaning that only 11th graders will be taking the state-administered test this spring, while the KDE works to secure funding for 10th graders to do the same in the coming years to comply with state mandates.

K-PREP Test-Prep Tips, Tricks, and Best Practices for Classroom Teachers

K-PREP preparation doesn’t have to dominate your classroom agenda this spring. By getting started early, utilizing formative assessment strategies, and making the most of practice testing, teachers in the classroom can provide students with individualized K-PREP support without sacrificing time from the standard curriculum (and of course, some fun!).  Check out these resources to get started.

[NWEA MAP Growth Assessments] Answering “What’s Next with Your Data?”
The NWEA™ MAP® Growth™ benchmark assessments are a powerful tool that Kentucky educators can use to gain insight into student progress. Learn how to put your NWEA RIT scores to good use by making scores into actionable data that can help support targeted instruction.

5 Proven Ways to Get the Most Out of Practice Testing
The old adage “practice makes perfect” is a familiar turn of phrase for a reason. Ensure that you’re getting the most out of every minute your students are spending on practice testing.

3 Ways Online Practice Can Support Your Test-Prep Program  
As you are considering different options to ensure that your students have achieved standards proficiency, it’s critical that you have a program that’s aligned to the K-PREP Standards. Consider this and other benefits of using an online program.

4 Best Practices to Use Midyear Benchmark Assessment Data
Like any assessment, midyear benchmarks are only as valuable as the strategies you employ using the data. Here are four ways to make these assessments a truly valuable exercise for you and your students.

Marzano-Validated Best Practices for Online Practice
The Edmentum research team was honored to have Marzano Research peer review a research project that we conducted for our classroom practice and assessment program, Study Island. Through that review, Marzano confirmed our findings about the effectiveness of Study Island, and we also uncovered four best practices to help students get the most out of online practice.

General Test-Prep and Test-Taking Tips for Educators

No matter the exact situation, testing is a stressful process. But successful test taking, beyond content knowledge, is also a skill that can be taught, acquired, and mastered. Here are some of our best resources on general test prep and test taking to help the K-PREP testing process go smoothly at your school.

10 Classroom and School Tips to Improve Test Scores
Helping students achieve K-PREP test success is about much more than targeted practice in the classroom. Check out these 10 holistic tips to make sure that your students are ready for their assessments in all ways.

8 Last-Minute Steps Districts Can Take to Improve Test Scores
Administrators may not feel like they have a direct hand in making sure that students are well-prepared for the K-PREP. But, there is no shortage of steps administrators can take to ensure that their teachers and students have what they need for a successful testing season—even when it comes down to the wire.

6 Tips for Teachers to Help Students Manage Stress
Testing season inevitably means classroom stress will hit a new high. So, how can you keep anxiety levels in check and help your students stay cool, calm, and collected when test day rolls around? Here are six tips for a low(er) stress testing season.

8 Tips for Parents to Help Your Child Prepare for High-Stakes Tests
Parents and other caregivers are critical to every student’s educational journey. So, get them involved in the K-PREP test-preparation process! Share these eight simple tips with parents to help them support their learners on testing days.

Ready to take your K-PREP test-preparation program to the next level? Check out Study Island, Edmentum’s online solution for classroom practice and assessment, and our extensive library of programs designed exclusively for Kentucky educators and students. You can even start your FREE trial of Study Island today!

P.S. Did you know you can use GEAR UP Kentucky funds toward online educational programs like Study Island and Edmentum Courseware? Learn more about Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP), and take a look at past GEAR UP awards.

This blog post was originally posted on February 19, 2019.