LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Fern Creek High School is no longer on priority status as a low-performing school. 

The school had been on priority status since the 2009-2010 school year and was expected to shed that status this year, but initial test results released in October showed that the school missed its annual goal by one-tenth of a percentage point.

After a data review conducted by the state, officials told WDRB News on Thursday that Fern Creek is now in the clear.

Nate Meyer, principal at Fern Creek, could not immediately be reached for comment.

According to a news release from Jefferson County Public Schools released at 2;30 p.m., the school was able to shed that status by improving student achievement, developing core processes to sustain that improvement and meeting all Kentucky Department of Education requirements. 

Fern Creek is now classified as a Proficient-Progressing school, ranking in the 76th percentile among public schools across the state. 

"Congratulations to every teacher, administrator and student who has worked diligently over the last five straight years to improve student achievement at Fern Creek," said JCPS superintendent Donna Hargens. "The creek is truly rising at this school. Everyone has committed themselves to the most productive use of extra resources available to struggling schools toward improving student achievement. I know that sustaining this turnaround for the long term is Fern Creek's ongoing focus." 

Approximately 1,500 students attend Fern Creek High.

Schools are placed in priority status as a result of a 2010 law that called for the Kentucky Department of Education to identify the state's lowest-performing schools and outline a range of interventions aimed at turning them around.

The interventions include: replacing the principal and site-based decision-making council, replacing more than half the faculty, closing the school and transferring its students to higher-performing schools or restarting the schools under the management of a private or nonprofit operator.

Over the past five years, 18 schools in Jefferson County (36 across Kentucky) have been identified as priority schools for having chronically low test scores. During that time, the district has received more than $35 million in federal grant money to help turn them around.

Only one school -- Waggener High -- has been able to exit priority school status.

Three more schools -- Roosevelt-Perry Elementary, Byck Elementary and the middle school at Moore Traditional were identified as priority schools for the first time. They joined 17 others in JCPS that are considered to be among the lowest performing in the state.

Reporter Antoinette Konz covers K-12 education for WDRB News. She can be reached at 502-585-0838 or @tkonz on Twitter.

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