Don't kill CATS, fix it

This from the Herald-Leader:

The challenge for lawmakers is to fix what drives people crazy about CATS without dumbing down what goes on in Kentucky classrooms.

The Senate has approved a plan that would set the state back 20 years to its days as the nation's education bottom-dweller.

All most people want, however, is some relief from weeks of test practice and endless re-writing of portfolio pieces.

Many parents would be astounded to learn that in most grades, CATS (the Commonwealth Accountability Testing System) requires no more than a dozen hours of testing a year.

The anti-CATS backlash is not so much a reaction to the test's content as to the numbing time drain it has become on teachers and kids.

It's not surprising that educators went overboard coaching students for a test that can get a school branded a failure. But it's poor education practice, bordering on cheating, and should be reined in.

Schools can prepare for CATS in the regular rhythm of teaching and classroom assessment. That's how it was always supposed to be.

What no one needs is the dumbing down that would be the inevitable, if unintended, effect of Senate Bill 1, which emerged from the Senate last week...