2008 House Bill 15 (Remove writing portfolios from 4th grade CATS testing)

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Introduced by Rep. Jim DeCesare on January 8, 2008, to remove writing portfolios from the statewide CATS assessment program for elementary schools.
- Referred to the House Education Committee on January 8, 2008.

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Comments

Introduced by Rep. Jim DeCesare on January 8, 2008. New Comment

1) Support house bill 15 [by Anonymous Citizen on February 26, 2008]
I was very excited to read House Bill 15!!! The CATS Test money drain on our state is enormous. I teach 5th graders at White Hall Ele. I teach Social Studies an assessed area. I ask myself every year Why are we comparing our students to other students in the state? And then pat ourselves on the back because we are in the top 10 schools in our state. Big Deal! What we really need to know is how our school or our state stacks up against schools in our nation. Teachers really see the need of a nationally norm referenced test. Why are legislators so tied to the CATS test? Do you ask the opinions of teachers who are on the front line everyday?

I also have children ready to go to college this fall and loved the idea of students taking the preparation ACT national test in high schools as part of bill 15. Isn’t that the goal for all college bound students to do well on the ACT, so why are we wasting tax dollars and so much time taking the CATS in high school. Here are two major problems, all the writing of portfolios never teach students how to write reports APA style for college and they are arriving in college unprepared. I don’t blame the high school teachers for never requiring this report based writing because their plates are too full already just writing open responses, on demands, and portfolio pieces. Secondly, my senior boys are put out of their school for 3 days so that the school doesn’t have to baby-sit seniors while the rest of the school tests. They are to mentor working people. Is this a good education plan?

It is very hard for me support the CATS Test knowing how much it is costing in money and time in the classroom preparing our students just to take it. Did you know that our county spends thousands of dollars on a “CATS like test” called “Think Link” for the students to practice on. We take the test for 2 days 3 times a year. Money and 6 more days of missed instruction time taken away from our students just preparing to take the CATS test. 4th grade writing portfolios are hours and days of missed instructional time while teachers stop group instruction to conference over and over to make these portfolios proficient. When the students arrive in fifth grade they hate writing so much they groan when we start writing.

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2) Disagree with Those who Disagree [by Anonymous Citizen on February 23, 2008]
Those who believe that writing will deteriorate, I cannot disagree with you more. I am a second grade teacher in Kentucky, and writing is not assessed in my grade. I teach writing and teach it well. Moreover, writing is still required for the ORQ's and on-demand. The need to provide three polished pieces really isn't necessary. It is time-consuming when you consider that there are 28 kids, each with three pieces to polish (write, type, revise, conference, revise, conference, revise, conference, revise...) when the teacher could be teaching more skills to the entire class or teaching small groups skills they're having difficulty with instead. Most fourth graders have not acquired the ability to *effectively* revise and edit their own pieces like middle and high school students have. It is still a developing skill. The stakes are high for teachers to have kids who perform well, and this is one area that they have control over, so the conferencing and revising is unending until the day they are due. The stress that accompanies writing portfolios is unfair and unnecessary. I taught fourth grade for six years until they were able to hire someone fresh out of college to take my place because nobody in our school wanted to teach fourth grade and only the ones desperate for employment would take it. The teachers who find themselves in fourth grade must remain until someone will take their place and relieve them. Trust me, the pros of eliminating portfolios in fourth grade will far outweigh the cons.
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3) writing portfoliios [by Anonymous Citizen on February 22, 2008]
These create the need to get a good score for state purposes. The whole beauty of writing is taken away by the pressure to perform, and it makes the kids frustrated. The children can still do much writing without a portfolio. Plus, sadly needed grammar skills are often neglected. If you can't write a sentence, the purpose is lost. It is an insult to say that teachers do not teach writing without them. I taught for years, and the students did write different pieces. Is about the students, or the need to be like everyone else?
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4) agree [by Anonymous Citizen on February 19, 2008]
You are correct in so many ways
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5) Anonymous Citizen [by Anonymous Citizen on February 4, 2008]
Clearly, writing will not cease to be taught if writing portfolios are not used for fourth grade assessment. You cannot teach fourth grade without teaching writing skills. Portfolios take an unreasonalble amount of time for the amount of learning they allow. Also, as a fourth grade teacher, I see that our students need extra time in Math and Reading Comprehension. To see the true value of writing portfolios for assessment in the fourth grade, a poll should be taken of what fourth grade teachers across our state think. We are working with the content and students each day and we know what works and what does not.
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6) Kentucky writing teacher [by Anonymous Citizen on February 2, 2008]
There can be no doubt that when the writing portfolio is removed from assessment, student writing will deteriorate. We assess what we value; if writing is no longer assessed, the instructional time now spent teaching students to become proficient writers will instead be spent on a subject area that IS part of the assessment. As teachers,we all know, if it's not assessed, it's not taught. Yes, students will still have to write, but focused instruction on the tools and strategies good writers use will just become one more thing we "don't have time for anymore" because it's not on the test! More than any other subject area, students must call upon their writing skills daily throughout their academic careers,as well in their adult workplace. The level of student writing in Kentucky has increased dramatically since the writing portfolio was introduced. It's not perfect, but it's what keeps writing instruction in the classroom. Without it, we would return to the days of writing assignments, not writing instruction!
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7) Strongly Disagree [by Anonymous Citizen on February 23, 2008]
As a fourth grade teacher, and one who loves to teach writing, I know that removing the writing portfolios would benefit writing instruction in our schools. It would remove the pressure on both students and teacher to produce "proficient" pieces. It would give ownership of the writing back to the student writers, and it would allow the teachers to make/model corrections on student papers again. We would actually be able to teach the writing process!
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8) Disagree [by Anonymous Citizen on February 23, 2008]
To say that we will go back to writing assignments is an insult to Kentucky teachers. While we were forced to force 9 and 10 year olds to create polished portfolios, we were also introduced to better ways of teaching kids to write. The better instruction won't go away - the oppressive system of assessment will. Have faith in your colleagues.
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9) disagree [by Anonymous Citizen on February 19, 2008]
As a teacher....you are wrong to assume that writing will cease to be important....writing portfolios make writing unimportant and take too much time away from students learning.
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10) What should be done. [by Anonymous Citizen on January 13, 2008]
Why not just have the fourth, seventh, and eleventh graders take the CTBS and thats it.

Think of the millions of dollars which would be saved. Throw out CATS and just use the CTBS, a test that can be given in a matter of days which is both valid and reliable.

Put the millions of dollars saved into reducing the number of students per teacher.
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11) Kentucky Teacher [by Anonymous Citizen on January 12, 2008]
It is beyond obvious that Kentucky citizens want the writing portfolio removed from CATS assessment! There has been legislature requesting the removal of writing portfolios for years!

I consider myself a writer and a teacher of writing. There is no way I would suggest removing writing instruction from Kentucky classrooms, but using portfolios as a form of assessment is not working! Even with the recent changes, the portfolio is still more of a distracter from writing instruction than a means of promoting literacy. The writing portfolio still eats up instructional time; it limits instructional practice; it limits student creativity and ownership!

HB 15 suggests removing portfolios from elementary schools. I suggest removing portfolios from assessment altogether! Kentucky teachers know that writing is a major component in education; they also know that including the portfolio as a part of assessment is not helping us reach our goals! Why not remove portfolios from assessment altogether? Why is it that we continue to hold on to this outdated, ineffective, drain on educational resources?

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