Kentucky ranks among the nation's best in terms of academic recovery in reading and mathematics, according to the 2026 Education Scorecard, a collaboration between the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University, The Educational Opportunity Project at Stanford University and faculty at Dartmouth College.

Kentucky ranked 8th out of 38 states in academic growth in mathematics and 5th out of 35 states in reading between 2022 and 2025. The latest report provides insight on where students' academic recovery stands, combining state test results for roughly 35 million grade 3–8 students nationwide with national assessment data to describe changes in local communities.

"The Kentucky Department of Education has been making great strides in literacy and numeracy education the last several years with several new, innovative methods of improving instruction in these areas, and we are seeing even more evidence that these investments are working," said Commissioner of Education Robbie Fletcher.

Through initiatives like the Kentucky Reading and Numeracy Academies, thousands of teachers are being equipped with strategies to strengthen early literacy and numeracy instruction and help more students reach grade-level expectations. Kentucky's efforts with early literacy include the Kentucky Reading Academies and the Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS) training for teachers and administrators.

The report highlighted 108 districts across the country as "Districts on the Rise," meaning they've shown exceptional progress relative to similar districts in their state. Several Kentucky schools made the list as they excelled in both reading and math: Anderson County, Perry County, Marion County, Ohio County, Corbin Independent and Pike County. Marion County Public Schools offers a compelling model of what focused, evidence-based reform can achieve in a rural district.

"In Marion County, our commitment to evidence-based instruction isn't just about adopting a new curriculum; it's about ensuring every leader and educator has the specialized training to implement it with precision," said Chris Brady, Marion County superintendent. "We're committed to reclaiming the classroom for authentic student-to-teacher engagement." Beyond high-quality instructional resource implementation, Marion County has intentionally scaled back technology use – implementing monthly screen-free days at the middle school level – to foster direct student engagement and standards-aligned instruction.

Districts highlighted specifically for growth in mathematics performance were Paducah Independent, Harlan County, Grayson County, Franklin County, Johnson County and Boyd County.