KENTUCKY DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

TASK FORCE TO REVIEW STATE’S ASSESSMENT & ACCOUNTABILITY SYSTEM
(FRANKFORT, Ky.) – A statewide task force of policymakers and experts in the field will review Kentucky’s Commonwealth Accountability Testing System (CATS), with the primary goals of providing a blueprint for the system’s progress in the future and ensuring that the system meets the best interests of public school students.
Education Commissioner Jon E. Draud will convene the task force, which will be formed after the 2008 session of the General Assembly ends. Draud will ask key legislative leaders from both major parties, higher education representatives, experts from groups such as the Southern Regional Education Board and other individuals to serve on the task force.
“A major objective is to achieve consensus by Democratic and Republican policymakers on the makeup of the assessment and accountability system,” Draud said. “All policymakers want what’s best for students, and this task force will provide the means to achieve that.
“There are many good components in CATS, and there’s no need to throw out the entire system,” said Draud. “There are legitimate concerns about some aspects of CATS. Any high-stakes system needs periodic review, and I want to ensure that we’re engaged in activities that are in the best interests of students.”
The task force will seek input from teachers, administrators, parents, businesspeople, elected officials, education advocacy groups and others. The group will analyze individual components of CATS and determine the effectiveness of those in meeting the needs of students.
More information about the task force will be available as individuals are named to serve. A timeline for the task force’s work has not yet been set.

Meanwhile, the Senate Education Committee heard from three testing experts who poked holes in the premise of senators David Williams and Dan Kelly that the ACT test would do a better job of measuring students' knowledge from year-to-year. Ben Oldham, Skip Kifer and Thomas Guskey of the Testing Institute at Georgetown all agreed that the CATS test measures school performances, not students. But they added that the multiple choice only ACT or other similar test wouldn't do the trick either and wouldn't tell parents whether their kids are meeting the goals and standards set by the Kentucky Department of Education. In Kifer's opinion, there's no test that will ever measure or do all of things that Williams and Kelly want it to do. Governor Beshear has said he'll veto SB 1 if it gets to his desk.