CATS Task Force Sets Course

(FRANKFORT, Ky.) – Recommendations from the Task Force on Assessment and Accountability provide guidance for future work to update and improve the Commonwealth Accountability Testing System (CATS), Kentucky’s method of public school assessment and accountability.

“Assessment and accountability are polemic topics, and not just in Kentucky,” said Education Commissioner Jon E. Draud. “Many – including the members of this task force – have strong opinions. But, this group came to consensus on some key areas, providing the Department of Education and the Kentucky Board of Education with an early blueprint to help us maintain accountability to 2014 and decide what the system will look like in the future.”

The group had four main recommendations:

• Expand a pilot project that enabled assessment of elementary schools’ arts programs -- The project, conducted in the 2007-08 school year in 20 schools, provided the means to measure schools’ arts instructional programs against standards for curriculum, instruction, assessment and organizational support for the arts and humanities program. The task force recommends that the project be expanded statewide and to all grade levels. The project would eventually be phased in to the school and district accountability system to take the place of paper-and-pencil tests taken by students.
• Encourage formative assessments – Formative assessments are those that encourage learning and provide direct and immediate feedback to students and teachers. Examples of formative assessments include classroom assessments, anecdotal records, quizzes, lab reports and diagnostic tests.
• Work toward concise standards and a balanced assessment and accountability system – The task force supports reviewing the state’s subject-area standards and ensuring that those are rigorous and relevant. The group also wants a focus on a system of assessments that are accurate, efficient and provide detailed information on how well students attain specific standards.
• Provide teacher training and preparation related to assessment – The goal is to focus on standards and different types of assessment to foster a sense of “assessment literacy” among educators to ensure that they use appropriate testing to best meet the needs of students.

The group’s four recommendations will be considered by the Kentucky Board of Education at its meeting December 10-11.

Commissioner Draud will appoint a work group of practitioners and others for further action. The group would explore the next generation of assessment and accountability, maintaining the state’s goal of having all schools reach proficiency by the year 2014 and providing a plan to update assessment and accountability for the future. Members will be named in early 2009, and the group will provide periodic updates to the task force.

Formed in June, the task force reviewed the Commonwealth Accountability Testing System (CATS) to provide a blueprint for the system’s progress in the future to ensure that the system meets the best interests of public school students. Members of the group included policymakers and experts in the field.

Education Commissioner Jon E. Draud asked statewide organizations, partner groups and leaders of the Kentucky Senate and House of Representatives to name members to the task force. The group began meeting in August, with the goal of having recommendations to present to the state legislature in early 2009.

Minutes from the task force meetings are available online.
SOURCE: KDE press release

Assessment and Accountability Task Force Meets Wednesday

(FRANKFORT, Ky.) – The Task Force on Assessment and Accountability will meet Wednesday, October 29, from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. in the State Board Room of the Capital Plaza Tower in Frankfort.

The group will continue its discussion of arts & humanities assessments and other topics. The meeting will be webcast, and information about how to access that will be available on the Kentucky Department of Education’s homepage on the day of the meeting.

The task force will review the Commonwealth Accountability Testing System (CATS) and provide a blueprint for the system’s progress in the future to ensure that the system meets the best interests of public school students. Members of the group include policymakers and experts in the field.

Education Commissioner Jon E. Draud asked statewide organizations, partner groups and leaders of the Kentucky Senate and House of Representatives to name members to the task force.

The task force is seeking 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.

SOURCE: KDE press release

Task Force on Assessment and Accountability

At last week's CATS Task Force meeting included a PowerPoint from consultant Doris Redfield who looked at Writing Portfolios over time. Various recommendations were presented. Here are some bits and pieces.


Robert Holland (2007): Problems with large-scale portfolio assessments:

• Failure to yield reliable comparative data
• Large differences in the way teachers implement portfolios
• Differences in the opportunities given to students to revise their work
• Variations in the degree of assistance that students receive from peers, parents, teachers, and other sources

Elizabeth Dick, 2008 (writing and literacy expert)

• Maintain the writing portfolio assessment as part of the Commonwealth Accountability Testing System (CATS).
• Emphasize the need for district and school leadership to ensure that the writing portfolio procedures outlined in 703 KAR 5:010 and in Part 1 of the Kentucky Writing Handbook are being implemented and that teachers’ professional growth plans and performance evaluation documents address appropriate expectations for writing instruction. (LS)
• Consider ways to hold students more accountable for their writing performance (HS end-of-course? Graduation? In-class grading practices?)
• Continue to support increased state funding of the eight Kentucky Writing Project sites which provide teaches across grades and content areas with quality professional development through the month-long Summer Institutes, Saturday Mini-Conferences, and Advanced Institutes. (I)
• Consider a course in writing instruction as a condition for teacher licensing in Kentucky. (I)
• Provide writing cluster leaders, who serve as instructional leaders in their schools, with more instructional support and professional development opportunities. (I)
• Provide schools with more specific writing portfolio audit feedback and more tools for ensuring accurate portfolio scoring. (I; could be an assessment issue if portfolio writing remains in the accountability system).
• Schools must be encouraged to analyze students’ working folders across grade levels and accountability grade portfolios annually. (Program evaluation issue?)

Kentucky Association for Assessment Coordinators (2008)

• Any assessment that limits opportunities for learning is a mistake.
• We believe that, if educators focus on teaching for learning, the accountability systems and test scores will take care of themselves.
• Issues of greatest importance include:

• Resolve the writing portfolio issues (see KAAC’s 2004 position paper and
  recommendations)

  Expand the use of on demand writing (at grades 3 through 12 will increase
  more effective writing opportunities – discuss Elizabeth Dick’s point).

CATS Task Force Divided Over Writing Portfolios

If a vote had been taken today it is unclear whether Commissioner Draud's Assessment and Accountability panel would keep writing portfolios in the CATS assessment.

What was clear is that at least ten members are deeply divided on either side of the issue.

Acknowledging the divisiveness of the issue, the Commish, who attended the first bit of the meeting by phone due to a follow up doctor's appointment with his neurologist in Cincinnati, encouraged the Task Force to move on to consideration of Arts & Humanities and other issues. Citing a mid-November deadline so that the report could go to the state board for approval and be prepared in advance of the 30-day legislative session in January, Draud said,

"...if we can't reach a consensus on this issue, then I'd like to see us move on
and table the issue."

But the Task Force went a different way, some even doubting aloud whether the November deadline was necessary, and spent the entire meeting discussing writing portfolios and a proposal to substitute a "program review" without resolution.

The panel heard a list of 13 recommendations from writing consultant, Dr. Charles Whitaker, who recommended that Kentucky,

Retain a balanced writing assessment that includes Multiple-choice Items for Revising and Editing On-demand Writing Tests and Writing Assessment Portfolios.

Whitaker argued that these methods provide useful information and about students' writing and the effectiveness of schools' writing programs.

Sen Dan Kelly (R) Springfield outlined his concerns.

"...We've been at it for 18 years...We're not seeing that the program, as devised, is getting the results we want and we're hearing that nobody else in the country is doing it....and the problem I think is the worst problem, is...so many of the teachers are saying, 'We can't use the writing portfolio like we should because we've got these assessment restrictions, in order to try to make it a more valid assessment'."

Under questioning from Rep Harry Moberley (D) Richmond, Whitaker, said,

"I have to say to you, this bluntly, that if you take the writing portfolio from assessment, I think there will be a dramatic reduction of instruction in writing in the state."

Moberley argued that the problem wasn't a bad idea that was tried and failed, but rather, a good idea that was never supported enough to make it as effective as it might have been.

"We've never had the professional development that has really taught [teachers how to embed writing instruction into the portfolio to make class time efficient]; we've never had the administrative leadership or professional development for administrators to make that happen."

Wayne Roberts, representing the state assessment coordinators, suggested substituting a "working portfolio" with a "program review" for the existing assessment portfolio. The balance of the meeting was largely concerned with his proposal.

Whitaker opined about the program review, "...A lot would depend on the details of who's doing the reviewing, what are they reviewing ...and what are the criteria..on that program review.

And that can be slop, or it can be a high quality review.

I'd be very careful to ensure that we had a pretty clear idea of who's going to do it, what kind of training they've had. Do they know about writing? Have they served as scorers in writing portfolio work? Do they know the criteria of different types and forms of writing for different purposes - academic, analytic, technical? ...How skilled will they have to be to do a good program review?

...We'd better have conviction that whatever we do with a program review is going to result in good instruction and good curriculum for our kids...

I can see the same problems appearing in a program review...

It's Time for a Field Trip

ASSESSMENT & ACCOUNTABILITY TASK FORCE TO MEET

(FRANKFORT, Ky.) – The Task Force on Assessment and Accountability will meet Tuesday, October 14, from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. in the State Board Room of the Capital Plaza Tower in Frankfort.

The group will continue its discussion of writing portfolios, arts & humanities assessments and other topics. The meeting will be webcast, and information about how to access that will be available on the Kentucky Department of Education’s homepage on the day of the meeting.

The task force will review the Commonwealth Accountability Testing System (CATS) and provide a blueprint for the system’s progress in the future to ensure that the system meets the best interests of public school students. Members of the group include policymakers and experts in the field.

Education Commissioner Jon E. Draud asked statewide organizations, partner groups and leaders of the Kentucky Senate and House of Representatives to name members to the task force.

The task force is seeking 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.
SOURCE: KDE press release

Some members of EKU's EDL 822 will be in attendance.

Assessment and Accountability Task Force Wants to Hear from You

(FRANKFORT, Ky.) – The members of the Task Force on Assessment and Accountability have issued a call for input from teachers, administrators, parents, businesspeople, elected officials, education advocacy groups and others who are interested in the state’s public school testing and accountability system.

The task force is focusing on a number of areas, including:

• on-demand writing/writing portfolios
• arts & humanities and practical living/vocational studies
• minor changes to the assessment system, including national comparisons, alternate assessments and the Kentucky Core Content Tests
• formative/diagnostic assessments
• assessments of student learning
• standards (narrowing of curriculum)
• longitudinal testing models
• individual student focus
• college readiness
• analysis of Educational Planning and Assessment System (EPAS) technical
  programs
• balance of student/school accountability
• timeliness of results
• end-of-course exams

Written comments on those areas (or others) are requested. Those may be sent to Lisa Gross, director of the Division of Communications, 6th Floor, 500 Mero St., Frankfort KY 40601; e-mail lisa.gross@education.ky.gov; fax (502) 564-3049.

The task force is charged with reviewing the Commonwealth Accountability Testing System (CATS) and providing a blueprint for the system’s progress in the future to ensure that the system meets the best interests of public school students. Members of the group include policymakers and experts in the field.

Education Commissioner Jon E. Draud asked statewide organizations, partner groups and leaders of the Kentucky Senate and House of Representatives to name members to the task force. The group will analyze individual components of CATS and determine the effectiveness of those in meeting the needs of students.

SOURCE: KDE press release

Assessment and Accountability Task Force to Meet

(FRANKFORT, Ky.) –The first meeting of the Task Force on Assessment and Accountability will be held on Tuesday, August 5, in the State Board Room of the Capital Plaza Tower in Frankfort.

The meeting will begin at 1 p.m. and is scheduled to end at 4 p.m. The tentative agenda includes discussion of the group’s work, procedures and future meeting dates.

The meeting will be webcast, and information about accessing that will be posted on the Department of Education’s homepage at http://www.education.ky.gov.

The task force will review the Commonwealth Accountability Testing System (CATS) and provide a blueprint for the system’s progress in the future to ensure that the system meets the best interests of public school students. Members of the group include policymakers and experts in the field.

Education Commissioner Jon E. Draud asked statewide organizations, partner groups and leaders of the Kentucky Senate and House of Representatives to name members to the task force.

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.

SOURDE: KDE press release

Assessment and Accountability Task Force Set to Meet

(FRANKFORT, Ky.) – The first meeting of the Task Force on Assessment and Accountability will be held on Tuesday, August 5, in the State Board Room of the Capital Plaza Tower in Frankfort.

The meeting will begin at 1 p.m. and is scheduled to end at 4 p.m. The tentative agenda includes discussion of the group’s work, procedures and future meeting dates.

The task force will review the Commonwealth Accountability Testing System (CATS) and provide a blueprint for the system’s progress in the future to ensure that the system meets the best interests of public school students. Members of the group include policymakers and experts in the field.

Education Commissioner Jon E. Draud asked statewide organizations, partner groups and leaders of the Kentucky Senate and House of Representatives to name members to the task force.

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.

Task force members are:
Jim Applegate, vice president for Academic Affairs, Council on Postsecondary Education
Joe Brothers, chair, Kentucky Board of Education
Dale Brown, superintendent, Warren County (representing the Partnership for Successful Schools)
Paula Eaglin, Kentucky Association of Professional Educators
Jenny Lynn Hatter, instructional supervisor, Harrison County (representing the Kentucky Association of School Administrators)
Rep. Jimmy Higdon, 24th District, Lebanon
Brenda Jackson, past president, Kentucky School Boards Association
Sen. Dan Kelly, 14th District, Springfield
Mike Lafavers, principal, Boyle County Middle (representing the Kentucky Association of School Councils
Roger Marcum, superintendent, Marion County (representing the Kentucky Association of School Superintendents)
Sen. Vernie McGaha, 15th District, Russell Springs
Rep. Harry Moberly, 81st District, Richmond
Helen Mountjoy, secretary, Education Cabinet
Sharron Oxendine, president, Kentucky Education Association
Rep. Frank Rasche, 3rd District, Paducah
Speaker of the House Jody Richards, 20th District, Bowling Green
Wayne Roberts, district assessment coordinator, Wayne County (representing the Kentucky Association of Assessment Coordinators)
Rep. Carl Rollins, 56th District, Midway
Sandy Rutledge, president-elect, Kentucky PTA
Bob Sexton, executive director, Prichard Committee
Diana Taylor, Kentucky Chamber of Commerce
Sen. Johnny Ray Turner, 29th District, Drift

Since the membership of the task force was originally announced in early June, Suzanne McGurk, representing the Kentucky Community and Technical College System, has joined the group. To provide additional geographic and racial diversity, Education Commissioner Jon Draud also named Marlene Helm, Ed.D., with Lexington Fayette Urban County Government (and a longtime educator), and Steve Stevens, with the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, to the task force. Dave Spence, president of the Southern Regional Education Board, will serve as facilitator for the group.

NOTE: Although earlier communications indicated that the task force would hold its first meeting in July, scheduling conflicts made it necessary to set the first meeting in August.

SOURCE: KDE press release

Task force to review CATS

This from the Richmond Register:

State Rep. Harry Moberly, D-Richmond, will be part of a 22-member task force charged with reviewing Kentucky’s public school assessment and accountability system.

The Kentucky Department of Education’s Task Force on Assessment and Accountability, which includes policymakers and experts in education, will review the Commonwealth Accountability Testing System (CATS) and provide a blueprint for the system’s progress in the future to ensure that the system meets the best interests of public school students.

“I think it’s important because we had a challenge during the session with a Senate bill (SB 1) that basically intended to throw out our current system of assessment and accountability,” Moberly said. “We need to take a good, thorough look at the issues that were raised during the session. I was one of the ones who actually kept that bill from passing. That was because I didn’t think that an outright abolition of our system was warranted. I think it’s a very important part of our education reform, but we need to look at how it can be improved.”

The task force will seek input from teachers, administrators, parents, business people, elected officials, education advocacy groups and others. They also will analyze individual components of CATS and determine the effectiveness of those in meeting the needs of students.“

The timing is important as to when we have the results,” Moberly said about improvements that can be made to CATS. “Moving ahead with online testing is important so we can get results back sooner and they can be used for prevention and intervention.

Also, whether or not we can use the ACT in some form or fashion is important. All of that needs to be looked at.”Education Commissioner Jon Draud asked statewide organizations, partner groups and leaders of the Kentucky Senate and House of Representatives to name members to the task force.“A major objective is to achieve consensus by Democratic and Republican policymakers on the make-up of the assessment and accountability system,” he said. “All policymakers want what’s best for students, and this task force will provide the means to achieve that...