Task Force Studies Effectiveness of CATS

From Kentucky Public Radio's Tony McVeighA task force studying Kentucky’s student accountability and assessment efforts has met for a second time in Frankfort.The Kentucky Education Reform Act of 1990 requires all Kentucky schools to be academically proficient by 2014. The Commonwealth Accountability Testing System, or CATS, is used to gauge progress.But with just six years remaining before KERA goals must be met, questions continue to be raised about CATS. So, Education Commissioner Jon Draud formed a 30-member task force to study its effectiveness."I don’t want the policymakers nor educators fussing and fighting over an assessment system when we’re trying to work hard to reach academic proficiency," says Draud.The task force, which has four more meetings scheduled before January, will make recommendations to the 2009 General Assembly. But Commissioner Draud doubts the body will recommend wholesale changes to the current assessment system since 2014 is just around the corner.