Buckner High School

Buckner High School in Crestwood, Kentucky, serves 50 students in grades 6–12 in an area that includes both small schools with similar grade spans and much larger high schools. The available results show serious concerns: in 2025–26, 10th-grade proficiency was 25% in math and 35% in reading, below state rates of 40% and 49% and Oldham County rates of 62% and 74%. In 2023–24, 11th-grade ACT proficiency was also low: 13% in English, 0% in math and 6% in reading, compared with state rates of 44%, 30% and 42%. Chronic absenteeism was 54% in 2025–26, far above the district’s 12% and the state’s 24%. The most important concern is the combination of weak reported academic results and exceptionally high absenteeism.

Compared with nearby schools, Buckner’s 10th-grade results were near the bottom: its math score was 24 points below the local average of 49%, and its reading score was 28 points below the local average of 63%. A relative bright spot is 11th-grade Editing and Mechanics, at 33%; that was closer to the state’s 40% than Buckner’s other reported KSA results, but still 25 points below the district and 11 below the nearby-school average. Buckner’s reported 2023–24 graduation rate was 70%, versus 97% in the district and 92% statewide. Most other 2025–26 KSA results are suppressed, so the available school scores do not cover all grades and subjects.

Attendance improved from 70% in 2021–22 to 54% in 2025–26, but rose 8 points from the prior year. SchoolDigger ranks Buckner 209th of 262 Kentucky schools, at the 20th percentile with 1 star; its overall percentile has risen from 1 in 2021–22, though it remains low. One subgroup result stands out: SchoolDigger’s Male Students percentile rose from 2 in 2023–24 to 33 in 2025–26, 13 points above the school’s overall percentile. Buckner’s student-teacher ratio is 5:1, while 68% of students were free/reduced lunch eligible in 2024–25, above the nearby-school average of 37%; these are context, not explanations for results.