Hey neighbors, Todd Kornack here with TK Realty Group at Schuler Bauer Real Estate Services. Kentucky's new school report card came out last week, and buyers and homeowners keep asking me the same things. Which school goes with this house? Why did our school change colors? Here are plain talk answers for Shelbyville, La Grange and Frankfort, plus a quick note for my friends in Southern Indiana.
Where do I find the new school ratings?
The Kentucky Department of Education released its 2025 to 2026 assessment and accountability results on October 15. You can look up any public school or district on the Kentucky School Report Card dashboard at kyschoolreportcard.org. Each school gets an overall color, from highest to lowest: blue, green, yellow, orange and red. Click into a school for reading and math results, graduation for high schools, and more.
My tip: do not stop at the color. One year is a snapshot. Three years tells a story. Our school dropped a color. Should we worry?
Not necessarily. Statewide, fewer schools earned blue this year. KDE counted 98 blue elementary schools out of 715, down from 117 last year. Blue middle schools went from 55 to 34, and blue high schools from 46 to 38. KDE says the drop came mainly from much lower Change scores, which measure improvement over the prior year, while Status scores, which measure current performance, stayed similar. In plain English, many schools performed about as well as last year but did not improve as much, so the color slipped.
There is good news in the same report. Reading proficiency reached recent highs at every grade level, and the statewide four year graduation rate hit 94.1%. One more heads up: lawmakers passed House Bill 257 this year, which changes the accountability system starting with the 2026 to 2027 school year. KDE cautions that future results will not compare cleanly with this year's.
How do I know which school goes with a specific house?
This is where buyers get burned. The school shown on a home search app, or even in a listing, is a starting point, not a guarantee. Boundaries change, and two streets close together can feed different elementary schools.
In Oldham County, the district posts a list of every county street with its school assignment, as a PDF and an Excel file, on its School Assignments page. If anything is unclear, call the Department of Pupil Personnel at (502) 241 3500.
In Shelby County, Shelby County Public Schools posts a School Attendance Boundaries document, but the version I found is labeled 2022 to 2023. I would confirm any Shelbyville or Simpsonville address directly with the district at (502) 633 2375.
In Frankfort, know that there are two separate public school districts. As the City of Frankfort explains, Frankfort Independent Schools runs Second Street School and Frankfort High School near downtown, while Franklin County Public Schools runs seven elementary schools, two middle schools and two high schools. Two homes a few minutes apart can land in different districts.
How did our local districts do?
Oldham County Schools reports that every school level in the district earned a green or blue overall rating this year. Its high schools earned blue, the top rating, and its graduation rate earned blue at 98.7.
Franklin County Schools reports that its district graduation rate earned blue and that it earned green ratings across its elementary and middle school tested categories. Hearn Elementary and Westridge Elementary each earned an overall green rating.
For Shelby County Public Schools, I have not found a district summary of this year's colors that I can confirm yet. The district does report that its students set a five year record for Advanced Placement qualifying scores in 2026. For any Shelby County home, pull up the exact school that serves that address on the dashboard.
What about Jeffersonville, New Albany and Charlestown?
Indiana runs a different system. The Indiana Department of Education is moving to A to F letter grades for every public school, and the first grades based on 2025 to 2026 data are due late in 2026. IDOE calls this first round "year zero," and an A means a score of 85 to 100. Until then, check the state's Indiana GPS dashboard, and Greater Clark County Schools posts performance reports for its schools, including Charlestown High School. Same rule applies: confirm the school for the exact address with the district.
My Take
Schools are one of the first things families ask me about. But a color is not the whole story. Before you write an offer, confirm the assigned school with the district, look at several years of results instead of one, and visit the school if you can. If you are selling, know which schools serve your home and describe them accurately in your listing.
Want me to pull the school report card for a home you are eyeing, or for your own address before you list? Call or text me at (502) 232 1915 or email toddtkrealty@gmail.com.
Kentucky Department of Education via Kentucky Teacher, KDE releases 2025 to 2026 assessment and accountability data, Oct. 15, 2026. Kentucky School Report Card dashboard. Oldham County Schools, 2026 State Assessment Results, October 2026, and School Assignments page. Shelby County Public Schools, School Attendance Boundaries document and SCPS Community Dashboard, accessed Oct. 20, 2026. Franklin County Schools, Strong Foundations to Capstone Success: One Team FCS Delivers Outstanding Test Scores, Oct. 15, 2026. City of Frankfort, Education page. Indiana Department of Education, Indiana's Accountability Model for Families and Students, and Indiana GPS. Greater Clark County Schools, School Performance Reports.
I'll pull the ratings and confirm the assigned school for any address in Shelby, Oldham, Franklin or across the river in Southern Indiana. No pressure, straight answers.
Todd Kornack, Schuler Bauer Real Estate Services. Your agent on both sides of the river. Call or text (502) 232 1915 or visit https://toddsellskentuckiana.huzi.site/
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