Tutoring in Kentucky
Kolu is software. Nobody from Kolu will drive to your house in Kentucky, and we have no office there. If you want a person, this page says how we would look for one. If the question is which skill is missing, we can help with that part.
Kentucky's state test is the Kentucky Summative Assessment, or KSA, and it comes late, in the last 14 instructional days of each district's calendar. Reading and math are tested in grades 3 through 8 and again in grade 10. Science is tested once at each school level, in grades 4, 7 and 11, and social studies in grades 5, 8 and 11. Starting in 2026-27 the state no longer tests writing, which now sits with local districts. Juniors also take a college admissions exam on a school day at state expense. That exam was the ACT for years and the SAT in spring 2026, and a 2026 law required the contract to be bid again for 2026-27.
What Kentucky tests, and when
| Grade | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading and writing | KSA | KSA | KSA | KSA | KSA | KSA | Not tested | KSA | Not tested | Not tested |
| Math | KSA | KSA | KSA | KSA | KSA | KSA | Not tested | KSA | Not tested | Not tested |
| Science | Not tested | KSA Science | Not tested | Not tested | KSA Science | Not tested | Not tested | Not tested | KSA Science | Not tested |
- KSA (Kentucky Summative Assessment): reading and writing, math, grades 3 through 8 and 10
- KSA Science: science, grades 4, 7 and 11
- Main testing window
- the last 14 instructional days of each district's calendar
- Standards
- Kentucky Academic Standards
- Paid for by the state
- SAT or ACT, grade 11, on a school day
Ask the school which college admissions exam juniors will sit in spring 2027, because the state gave the SAT in spring 2026 and Senate Bill 197 then forced a new bid, so the school year began without a decision. The score is worth money, since KEES scholarship bonus awards are based on a student's best ACT score or its SAT equivalent.
Is there a graduation test in Kentucky?
No score on the KSA is required, but there is a civics requirement: students pass a 100-question civics test or, for classes entering high school from 2025-26, complete a half-credit civic literacy course if their district chooses that route.
Kolu finds the missing skill and goes back to it
It starts with a skill check, a short test that gets harder or easier depending on the last answer. The result is a map of the subject broken into skills with their prerequisites drawn in, each one marked as solid, still being learned, or a gap.
After that, each session is a handful of activities picked for that student, usually something due for review, a gap to repair and one new skill. When an answer is wrong, Kolu looks at which earlier skill the mistake points to and goes back to it. Here is what that looks like for a sixth grader who can't divide fractions.
The problem on the page
3/4 ÷ 2/5
Dividing fractions
Grade 6
Multiplying fractions
Grade 5 · rests on the one below
Equivalent fractions
Grade 4 · usually where it started
Multiplication facts
Grade 3
Kolu does not call a skill mastered after one right answer. That takes correct work on different kinds of problems on different days, and a skill that fades gets brought back.
Kolu is not test prep for KSA. It has no bank of released questions. It teaches the skills the test draws on, and it will not do tonight's homework.
When to hire a person instead
Some students need a person, and software is the wrong purchase for them. That includes a child who shuts down when the work gets hard, a student with a learning disability who needs someone trained in it, and anyone with an exam in ten days.
Ask the school first. Teachers know who tutors, and a counselor can tell you what the district already offers at no cost. A nearby college is the next place to look, since students there took these courses recently and usually charge less than an agency.
Whoever you hire, ask one question before the first session: how will you find out what my child doesn't know? If the answer is that they will go over the homework, keep looking.
Free for one subject, $15 a month for 5
Kolu is free for one subject at a time, with one full skill check every 30 days and up to 4 sessions a day. Plus is $15 a month, or $120 for a year, and covers 5 subjects at once with unlimited skill checks. A learner under 13 needs a parent or guardian to set up the account.