The newly released 2024–2025 assessment and accountability results from the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) show encouraging growth in student performance across the Commonwealth—especially in literacy. Students achieved higher rates of proficient and distinguished performance in reading than in recent years, signaling that Kentucky’s multi-year investment in evidence-based literacy practices is paying off.
A key driver of this progress is the statewide commitment to improving early reading instruction. KDE highlighted the rapid impact of the Kentucky Reading Academies, launched in 2022 under Senate Bill 9 (the Read to Succeed Act). According to a third-party evaluation by ICF, the Academies have already accelerated early literacy outcomes by strengthening educators’ understanding and use of the science of reading. Thousands of teachers and administrators have engaged in LETRS training—bringing research-aligned practices directly into K–5 classrooms.
The Kentucky Reading Research Center is also playing a key role in supporting high-quality literacy instruction and improved student outcomes in reading. As part of KDE’s broader literacy strategy, the Center supports districts and educators by advancing research, providing guidance on high-quality instructional resources, contributing to statewide coherence around the science of reading, and helping ensure that every early literacy initiative is grounded in strong evidence. Together with KDE’s coaching networks, preservice alignment efforts, and educator grants, the Center helps sustain a comprehensive, research-driven approach to improving reading outcomes.
Kentucky’s latest assessment results reflect a promising trajectory: when the Commonwealth invests in educators, follows the research, and commits to high-quality literacy instruction, students succeed.
