George Rogers Clark High School scored an 80.1 in the state assessment for 2015-16, topping the previous year’s score by more than three points and achieving a second consecutive School of Distinction designation.

“This is evidence of teacher dedication and intentional focus,” said Principal David Bolen. “Our teachers are constantly looking at ways to innovate to meet varied student learning needs head on. This is a great testament to our teachers’ ability to motivate students to achieve at higher levels.”

GRC has gone from a low range high school at 51.3 in 2011-12 to one of the top performing schools in the state at 80.1.

Most notable among GRC’s continued gains was that 83 percent of the 2016 graduating class was deemed college ready. “I would put that statistic up against any large high school in the state,” Bolen said. “It is phenomenal.”

Kentucky’s accountability system grades schools in five areas – achievement, gap, growth, college/career readiness, and graduation rate (see explanation below).

Another area of excellence for GRC was the 19.9 ACT composite scored last year by the current senior class. The score is the highest ACT composite since Kentucky’s state legislature mandated in 2008 that all public high school juniors would take the ACT each year. The cost of the exam is paid with state funds.

The 19.9 ACT composite was a significant jump from the 18.8 posted in 2015. “The interesting thing about this is that the PLAN test this group of students took as sophomores indicated they would drop on the ACT,” Bolen said. “With hard work and focus, this group instead exceeded all expectations and reached an unprecedented composite.”

Bolen said in addition to teacher dedication and focus, the School of Distinction designation can be attributed to several in-school programs that emphasize academic progress and target individual needs.

“We do individual goal setting in which each student sets and works toward a goal in each of the core subjects – math, science, social studies and English,” said Eric Osborn, GRC’s CCR/Assessment Coordinator. “The teachers give a pretest, each student sets a goal, and then everyone works toward those individual goals through benchmark testing. It has been a highly effective approach to moving students toward mastery.”

GRC’s innovative intervention program uses in-school time to target students’ individual skill deficits and place them in a one-on-one teaching situation until the skill is mastered.

“Last year’s junior class was the first that had immediate interventions for three years,” Bolen said. “Instead of putting a Band-Aid on the problem, the interventions program addresses a student’s skill deficit immediately. The success of this approach was evident in that group’s historic ACT composite.”

The only other high schools in surrounding counties that received School of Distinction are Madison Southern and Model Lab, both in Madison County.

“This is three years in a row that we have achieved at some of the highest levels in the area,” Bolen said. “Success breeds success and we want to keep this going. The students and staff should be commended for this great honor.”

Students and staff will celebrate the achievement with an event on Oct. 20.