Grayson, Prichard Committee say bill could hurt science, social studies

This from Bluegrass Politics:

Bob Sexton, executive director for the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence, said the legislation aimed at replacing the Commonwealth Accountability Testing System (CATS) could have an unintended consequence of prompting Kentucky schools to focus more on math and reading to the detriment of the other subjects over the next three years before the new testing system is developed for the 2011-2012 academic year.

The House passed a re-written version of Senate Bill 1 by a 97-0 vote Wednesday.

The bill scraps the CATS test and immediately jettisons the writing portfolio requirement from the testing scheme. Other subjects, such as arts and humanities and living studies, also will be taken out of the testing formula next year, according to the bill....

...Secretary of State Trey Grayson weighed in with a similar appeal Wednesday, as reported by Bluegrass Politics.

“By suspending the state accountability index and following the federal accountability requirements, we run the risk of marginalizing civics education,” Grayson said in a statement. “With no accountability system in place for social studies, schools will naturally place a greater focus on those subjects that are part of accountability standards of No Child Left Behind.” ...