Better, not good
If the General Assembly is determined to steamroll ahead with a major change in education policy, even though there's too little time left to do the job right, House Bill 508 is the better vehicle to use.
A comparison and contrast by a Prichard Committee expert suggests ... the bill pushed by Rep. Harry Moberly, D-Richmond, is preferable to Senate Bill 1, which is covered with the handprints of those who long have opposed the historic Kentucky Education Reform Act of 1990...
...The Moberly bill tries to ensure that higher education experts are involved in setting standards to promote college readiness, and that teacher training programs are producing graduates who can meet high standards. But there's no real assurance these things will materialize.
There's also no assurance that funding will be available to turn all the rosy rhetoric into real educational progress.
Most important, there's no way to be sure this bill avoids the withering erosion to which KERA has been subjected over the years.
But it's by far the better of the two alternatives at hand.
C-J points to HB 508's
- systematic and inclusive approach to the content
- that it allows enough time to revise current standards
- mandates the use of testing that gets at problem-solving and communication skills
- emphasizes so-called "criterion-referenced" testing
- offers some attention to writing portfolios
- promises a "review" of programs in arts and humanities, and in practical living and vocational studies
- Opens the way to adopting end-of-course exams
They also object to "using the old-fashioned and unsophisticated multiple-choice-only approach" utilizing "norm-referenced testing," which narrows accountability and "places the student in relationship to other test-takers."
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