Perry County, Hazard schools post encouraging gains on assessments

Perry County Schools’ elementary reading results led the district’s 2024 assessment snapshot, with 24% of students earning Distinguished and another 38% Proficient on Kentucky state tests. That put elementary reading at the top of the district’s reported subject bands, while high school math remained the lowest at 5% Distinguished and 30% Proficient.

The Kentucky Summative Assessment is given to public school students in grades 3 through 8, 10 and 11, and Perry County’s public results show gains that are easiest to see when the district is broken out by level. Elementary math came in at 10% Distinguished and 39% Proficient, middle school reading at 23% Distinguished and 36% Proficient, and middle school math at 12% Distinguished and 33% Proficient. At the high school level, reading reached 15% Distinguished and 26% Proficient.

Taken together, the numbers show a clearer edge in the earlier grades than in high school. Elementary reading and math both outpaced the secondary grades, a pattern that matters in a county where school performance carries real weight for families deciding where to stay, where to enroll, and which buildings need the most attention from district leaders.

The Kentucky Department of Education’s School Report Card Suite gives families, educators and community members a way to compare district and school-level results across Kentucky. For Perry County, that kind of public dashboard matters because the numbers are not just abstract scores; they reflect how students are doing in classrooms from the elementary years through graduation.

One local example is Viper Elementary School, which the Kentucky Department of Education describes as one of five elementary schools in Perry County Schools. Viper serves just under 300 preK-8 students, has a 12-to-1 student-to-teacher ratio, and enrolls a student body that is 99% White, with 82% of students eligible for free or reduced lunch. In a school that small, even modest score changes can be felt quickly by teachers, parents and administrators.

The county’s broader school picture also includes a sharp district divide. Perry County Public Schools is listed by Niche with an overall grade of C, while Hazard Independent Schools is listed with an A minus and ranked No. 14 among Kentucky school districts. That contrast underscores why any assessment improvement in Perry County draws close attention: it affects not just state reporting, but the way the community measures whether its classrooms are moving in the right direction.