Officials with the Kentucky Office of Education Accountability said student achievement has been consistently stronger at schools where rigorous learning standards are properly implemented. They argue for lower-impact schools, which report less student achievement, simply providing and purchasing that curriculum isn’t enough.
Kentucky legislators recently heard an OEA report of some key differences between high impact schools, or those providing an effective education, and low-impact schools. The study presented early into the 2025 legislative session analyzed the barriers that low-impact schools face, including spending, staffing, and educational climate.
The study found strong leadership, both from administrators and fellow teachers, was notably present in the higher impact schools, where teacher leaders worked together to make cohesive changes. Debra Nelson, Division Manager for Research at the OEA, said they observed the opposite at low-impact schools.
“In most of the lowest-impact schools we visited, districts had recently purchased rigorous curriculum. But in five of the six schools we observed newer teachers, and sometimes teachers out of field, really struggling to implement those curricula and make the rigorous curricula accessible to students, many of whom were below grade level. So, because they were struggling, they simply reduced the standard,” said Nelson.
Poor working conditions were linked to both high teacher turnover and worse learning outcomes. Nelson said teachers are more likely to stay at schools with strong administrative leadership, where they feel supported.
“We interviewed a teacher in a highest impact school who had been a new teacher in another school, and he was ready to quit teaching. He was convinced he had no skills, he couldn’t manage classrooms, he felt the principal blamed him, and he was ready to go get another job. He just happened to hear about another job at a highest impact school,” said Nelson. “He had been working there three months when we interviewed him, and he said he was going to stay in the school the rest of his life.”
Nelson added working conditions are a red flag for school success, but they usually aren’t included in school planning documents.
Annual teacher turnover at these lower-impact schools was recorded at 21% last year, compared to 15% at high-impact schools.