CATS- Episode 2009

By Penney Sanders

Now that the KY General Assembly has adjourned, it may be safe to venture a few observations about what happened to the CATS assessment.

SB 1/HB508 reflected much needed updating and modifications to KY’s assessment system-CATS. It was not the end of school reform as we know it, contrary to the comments of some. Most school people, especially classroom teachers, have known for several years that there needed to be revisions to the test. It was cumbersome, took too much instructional time, did not provide useful data, etc, etc.

However, up until March 2009, the voices calling for changes to CATS had been effectively rebuffed no matter how reasonable the concerns expressed. In the 2008 Session, a previous iteration of SB1 was introduced. In some ways it was quite similar to the bill filed in this session. However, the 2008 version was met with tremendous opposition and the bill did not move forward. It was politicized, polarized and ultimately pulverized

What was the difference this year??? The changes in CATS legislation are an excellent example of the “Tipping Point”. As described in Malcolm Glidewell’s bestseller of the same name, there is a point at which an issue (legislation), despite previous resistance, changes; there becomes significant support for or opposition to that which was once thought unchangeable and suddenly it “tips.” There are other examples of tipping points-popularity, elections or public issues.

Criticism of CATS began in 1995 with the publication of the OEA’s report from their national panel of testing experts who identified problems with the assessment, then called KIRIS. Many of those problems could have been anticipated because testing for accountability was in its infancy and Kentucky was at the forefront of attempting such a broad-based test.

Over the years the changes to KIRIS/CATS at best, were band aids and at worst, exacerbated the weaknesses. The needed revisions and updates did not occur because of the prevailing and pervasive belief that changing the assessment somehow undermined school reform.

Now there is the opportunity to create a Kentucky test that reflects the best current thinking in psychometrics, revisit Kentucky’s instructional standards and implement a useful assessment.

Transforming the test to one based on individual student accountability and improvement from year to year reflects the current thinking in assessment and may prove to be a more accurate measurement of a school’s progress.

If significant numbers of students fail to make progress each year, then it is obvious something is wrong. On-demand writing may prove to be less cumbersome and time-consuming than portfolios.

Such a “Value Added” approach will encourage significant focus on what is occurring in the classroom and less on peripheral issues.

A second phenomenon was also present in the history of SB1/HB538 –the “argumentum ad homenum”-loosley translated it means attacking the man, not the argument. It is the lowest form of disputation. However, we have seen years of attacking the messenger rather than focusing on the merits of the message.

Throughout the 2009 session, until its last days, the voices that have been critical of CATS for several years were once again subjected to the attacks on their person. In my mind the low point, was the continued criticism and allegations from some that revising CATS was part of a right-wing attack on education led by those “rascal” Republicans. With the House vote of 93-0 and support from KEA to abolish CATS in its current form and to develop a new assessment, it is ridiculous to continue to pretend that somehow any opposition to testing must be rooted in ideology or political partisanship.

Kentucky has a wonderful opportunity over the next three years to create an assessment that reflects Kentucky’s academic standards. Additionally, it can be an assessment that is a useful diagnostic and instructional tool.

Furthermore, as we move forward to discuss and legislate other important issues, let us remember some of the lessons learned from KIRIS/CATS-that voices of criticism are not necessarily those of opposition but rather of different perspectives. As we undertake the comprehensive KERA review, the focus must be on the merits of the arguments rather than attributing motives and motivation to personalities and politics.

The Governor has created a unique opportunity to bring diverse voices and perspectives to this important discussion so that we can create the best possible education system. It is, hopefully, a new day and an opportunity that cannot be missed or misused.

Clear Thinking from the Daily Independent

This from the Daily Independent:

Revisiting KERA

Changing the 1990 education law

not the same as gutting it

Gov. Steve Beshear is right: After almost 20 years, it is time for a thorough review of the landmark Kentucky Education Reform Act of 1990.

But taking another look at the law is not the same as gutting it.

In their rush to change things they don’t like about the law, legislators must be careful not to scrap the many good things KERA has done for public education in Kentucky.While far from being the perfect law, the positives of KERA outweigh the negatives.

KERA needs to be fixed, not abolished.

While his comments about KERA during last week’s State of the Commonwealth address were brief, Beshear’s call for the “thorough review” of the 1990 law have generated much interest from both KERA’s supporters and its opponents. The former see the governor’s comment as an opportunity to improve the law; the
latter see it as a chance to scrap the law.

But the governor has the right idea on KERA when he said, “Let us now bring education, business and legislative leaders to not only check our course and see if any corrective steering is necessary, but just as important to renew and re-energize our commitment to education.”

KERA came about because of a landmark Kentucky Supreme Court ruling that declared unconstitutional the state’s system of funding public education. The
state’s highest court rightly ruled that education cannot be equal in the state when the amount of money spent per student in poor counties is a fraction of what wealthier counties spend per student. Thus, the justices ruled, those born in poor counties are destined to receiving an education that is inferior to children born in wealthier counties.

However, in response to the ruling, the Kentucky General Assembly went far beyond simply addressing the problem of unequal funding. They used the ruling to revolutionize education in the state.

During its almost 19 years of existence, KERA has not been a stagnant law. It has been adjusted to meet changing needs.

It originally mandated ungraded primary classrooms, with all students in grades one, two and three bunched together. The only real requirement was that they would be ready for the fourth grade after three years.Well, we don’t know of any school in this part of the states that still has ungraded primaries. It was an experiment that didn’t work and was wisely abandoned — or at least made optional instead of mandatory.

Republicans in the state Senate now want to scrap the CATS tests, in favor of standardized multiple choice tests that would be taken in the final week of each school year. At least some senators believe that once the CATS tests have been completed in April, education largely ceases for the year. If that’s true, then that’s a problem with individual teachers and administrators, not CATS.

Just because tests have been completed doesn’t mean learning has to stop. Teachers should fully use every day of instruction. Those who don’t show a lack of commitment to education.

The CATS test is not the first statewide exam of the KERA era. It replaced KIRIS. In fact, Kentucky has been constantly adjusting its tests in an effort to more fairly evaluate what students are learning and to get the results to schools as quickly as possible.

If Senate Bill 1 is approved by the 2009 General Assembly, it will essentially return testing in Kentucky to the pre-KERA days — and that, in our book, would be a giant step backwards.

Remember the “Lake Wobegone Effect”? That was the name critics gave standardized tests where all the children — like those in Garrison Keillor’s fictional Lake Wobegone — were deemed to be “above average.”Standardized tests have the advantage of being easy to grade and of accurately and consistently presenting children’s scores. However, multiple choice tests reward guessing and tell us nothing about whether students can apply their knowledge in practical ways.

That’s what CATS tries to do, and while grading takes longer and is somewhat arbitrary, the results tell us a lot more about what students are actually learning than the standardized tests.

Former Gov. Wallace Wilkinson and legislative leaders actively sought the advice of business executives — including then Ashland Inc. Chairman John Hall — and received their private support of KERA. That same sort of input should be sought this time around. After all, employers should know as well as anyone how well Kentucky’s public schools are preparing young people for the workplace and they have a vested interest in quality schools.

An entire generation of young Kentuckians have been educated under the edicts of KERA. That makes it an ideal time to take a closer look at both the strengths and shortcomings of the law.But it need not be done before the end of this legislative session. Instead, the governor and legislators should create a task force of educators, business leaders and legislators to review the law and recommend changes to be considered by the 2010 General Assembly.

That’s the right approach.