Education

Newsweek and The Daily Beast have again set out to find the best high school in the United States, based on which schools are doing the best job preparing students for college.

The Kentucky Department of Education says it will drop the written portion of the state’s End-of-Course Exams—called the constructed-response questions—in its accountability system, which officials expected will save money and time.

But some are concerned the change, effective this year, is a step back from Kentucky’s recent education reforms. 

The company contracted to provide standardized end-of-course exams in Kentucky has suspended online testing this week.

The Kentucky Department of Education halted the state’s ACT End-of-Course Exam last week after nearly 25 school districts experienced problems connecting to the test online. ACT officials initially told the department they had fixed the glitch, but later said more technical issues would prevent testing from resuming.

Certain Jefferson County Public Schools teachers and staff will be alerted soon whether they shouldn't plan to return to the district this fall.

The district's overstaff and layoff lists—which are prepared annually-—are subject to change daily, says JCPS Chief Financial Officer Cordellia Hardin, but the school district must alert the state who it plans to employ by May 15.