Education (K-12) · 2024–25 school year
Kentucky Public Schools
Public K-12 education statistics for Kentucky — 655,997 students in 1,559 schools in 2024–25, with enrollment history back to 1986 and county-level detail from 2002.
| Statistic | Value | School year |
|---|---|---|
| Student enrollment | 655,997 | 2024–25 |
| Public schools | 1,559 | 2024–25 |
| Teachers (full-time equivalent) | 42,759 | 2024–25 |
| Pupil-teacher ratio | 15.3 | 2024–25 |
| Free/reduced-price lunch students | 58.3% | 2024–25 |
| School poverty rate (MEPS) | 21.4% | 2022–23 |
| Charter school enrollment | 0.0% | 2024–25 |
| High school graduation rate | 93.6% | 2024–25 |
| Math proficiency (of tested) | 37.8% | 2021–22 |
| Reading proficiency (of tested) | 44.7% | 2021–22 |
| Chronically absent students | 25.1% | 2021–22 |
| White students | 70.9% | 2024–25 |
| Black students | 10.7% | 2024–25 |
| Hispanic students | 10.4% | 2024–25 |
| Asian students | 2.1% | 2024–25 |
Not every statistic is collected every year — each row shows its most recent available school year (amber when older than 2024–25). Blank/absent means not collected or below reliability floors, never zero. Some universal-meals states no longer report free/reduced-price lunch — school poverty (MEPS) is the better lens there. A 0% charter share in a state without a charter-school law is a true zero.
Kentucky state report card
Outcomes reported directly by Kentucky’s education agency — often more current than the federal series above. Because each state uses its own tests, definitions, and reporting windows, these figures are not comparable state-to-state; each row notes how Kentucky measures it.
| Measure | Latest | Trend | School year |
|---|---|---|---|
5-year graduation rate How Kentucky measures this5-Year Cohort Graduation Rate as published in the 2022-23 School Report Card (State Total row). Per ACGR convention this covers the cohort whose 4-year graduation year was 2021-22, allowed a fifth year through 2022-23; labeled here by the SRC reporting year as published. | 92.5% | 2022–23 | |
Math proficiency (state test) How Kentucky measures thisKentucky Summative Assessment (KSA) Mathematics, percent Proficient/Distinguished, grades 3-8 and 10 combined (all grades KSA tests in Mathematics). COMPUTED: KDE publishes only per-grade integer percentages with no tested counts and no all-grades aggregate, so this is a membership-weighted average of the seven statewide per-grade Proficient/Distinguished rates, weighted by same-year statewide grade-level membership from KY_enrollment_membership_2024-25.csv (per-grade rates: G3=43, G4=44, G5=43, G6=41, G7=43, G8=40, G10=41). | 42.1% | 2024–25 | |
Reading / ELA proficiency (state test) How Kentucky measures thisKentucky Summative Assessment (KSA) Reading, percent Proficient/Distinguished, grades 3-8 and 10 combined (all grades KSA tests in Reading). COMPUTED: KDE publishes only per-grade integer percentages with no tested counts and no all-grades aggregate, so this is a membership-weighted average of the seven statewide per-grade Proficient/Distinguished rates, weighted by same-year statewide grade-level membership from KY_enrollment_membership_2024-25.csv (per-grade rates: G3=47, G4=50, G5=50, G6=52, G7=48, G8=42, G10=47). | 48.0% | 2024–25 | |
Chronic absenteeism (recent) How Kentucky measures thisPercent of students chronically absent (absent 10% or more of enrolled days), all grades statewide, among students enrolled 10 or more days (denominator = 651,776, a cumulative enrolled-anytime base larger than the point-in-time membership headcount). KY School Report Card chronic absenteeism dataset, District 999 state row. | 25.0% | 2024–25 |
Source: KentuckyDepartment of Education (public reporting), 2026 collection. Not comparable across states — proficiency reflects different assessments and cut scores; graduation, dropout, and college-going use each state’s own cohort definitions and windows. Absent rows mean the state doesn’t publish that measure in a comparable file.
Kentucky schools by county
Students enrolled, 2024–25.
Kentucky schools — FAQ
How many students attend public school in Kentucky?+
655,997 students were enrolled in Kentucky's 1,559 public K-12 schools in the 2024–25 school year, taught by 42,759 full-time-equivalent teachers (NCES Common Core of Data).
What share of Kentucky students get free or reduced-price lunch?+
58.3% of Kentucky public school students were eligible for free or reduced-price lunch in 2024–25 — a common proxy for student economic need.
What is Kentucky's high school graduation rate?+
93.6% of Kentucky's adjusted cohort graduated in the 2024–25 school year — reported by Kentucky's education agency (its 4-year ACGR, more current than the federal series, which lags to 2021–22). Graduation rates run from 2010–11 onward.
Where does this data come from?+
Core statistics (enrollment, schools, teachers, poverty, demographics) come from the National Center for Education Statistics — the Common Core of Data, EDFacts, and the Civil Rights Data Collection. The most recent graduation rates and the state report-card outcomes (proficiency, college-going, dropout, chronic absenteeism) come directly from state education agencies, which publish sooner than the federal series. Full source and license details are on the methodology page. pumsdata is independent and not affiliated with NCES or any state agency.
Other states
Data: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (CCD, EDFacts, CRDC) and ED Data Express, plus current-year graduation and report-card outcomes from state education agencies. Full source and license details on the methodology page.