Kentucky Votes Forum

Introduced in the Senate on February 19, 2008, to change the CATS assessment program to one that measures progress of individual students, rather than schools, over time. The bill also eliminates open-response test questions from annual assessments. The bill requires reporting of assessment results to school districts and schools within sixty days after testing can begin

The vote was 22 in favor, 15 opposed and 1 not voting

(Senate Roll Call 0 at Senate Journal 0)

Click here to view bill details.

Get rid of the CATS tests and go back to the old fashioned SAT test. You might be surprised what teachers are actually teaching. Student Acheivement Test will prove that we need teachers that will teach the subject matters that will provide a beneficial future for our kids, not some of the BS that kids are getting now!

Yes!!!! Finally the state is doing something very smart with education-----its time for a change--i have been teaching 7th grade English for 14 years portfolios have never been an accurate assessment

To any conscientious language arts teacher, it is clear that the teaching of writing is a core element for instruction. To think that the current process of generating portfolios is productive and/or an accurate assessment of our students' abilities is unimaginable. The only true assessment of writing ability lies in an on-demand situation. Because on-demand could remain a part of our assessment, the teaching of writing would continue in the classroom even without portfolio assessment. All we have to do is look at the extrememly high portfolio scores and the low on-demand scores within in the same school to realize that our students are not becoming more porficient writers. The students appear to be "fixing" pieces instead of internalizing the process of writing in such a way that will make them successful independent writers. What concerns me is that if legislators consider writing portfolios to be detrimental to education in the elementary classrooms, why is that not true at ALL levels. We need to rely on teachers in the classroom to serve as guides for our decisions at the state level. English teachers in middle and high school are begging for a relief from the contraints of portfolio so that they can truly focus on the teaching of writing.

I support this bill wholeheartedly! I have been a fourth grade teacher in the state of Kentucky for nearly nine years. I have conferenced with the students writing portfolios, and they are not an accurate indication of a students writing ability. We as educators are forced to "teach the test". I think that teachers, parents, and students should be accountable through national testing yearly in ALL SUBJECT AREAS! As a fourth grade teacher who has the testing areas of math, science, reading, writing, and practical living, where do you think the emphasis of my teaching will go? Also, this many tests are WAY TOO MANY with open responses for a 9 year old child. It's sad, but true. Also, there are TOO MANY tests at the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade levels, and NOT ENOUGH at other levels, which is totally UNFAIR to intermediate teachers, as well as intermediate students. KUDOS to the writer of this bill.....its time to let the elementary concrete learners go back to concrete learning.

Now teachers can get back to teaching the "basics"needed in everyday life.What ever happened to good old fashion research papers and book reports?Where is basic math?These things are being overlooked and you can tell it.Now if we can get rid of NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND.Kids should be in groups with kids that won't "hold" them back.

I'm almost shocked that after all this time someone in the legislature grew a brain about Kentucky Education. I hope all those voting on this reads these posts, to understand just how unproductive these portfolios have been. It's too bad the 28 and under crowd is now out in the job market with no or poor skills in writing and math. Thank you

It's about time someone has realized that CATS doesn't determine what the students know; it determines how well they test. I have been in education for 19 years and have been involved with CATS since its inception. Writing portfolios don't determine how well students write; they determine how well they can conference and be polished with their teachers; math testing doesn't determine what math skills they know; it determines how well they can use a calculator. CATS tests the teachers and how well they can teach to the test. It should be abolished and this state needs to go back to ensuring that our students can be thinkers, not test-takers.

I am required to teach Drama to K-5. First of all, my training is in Library Media, not drama. I think this is the first smart thing the state of Kentucky could do for all children. Every decision that is made at the district level is based on CATS testing and not what is best for the students and there is a difference!! This is an answer to a prayer for Kentucky teachers!!! It has my vote!! Maybe now teachers will begin to love their jobs again!

As the parent of a 7th grader who is currently in the throes of portfolio writing I am writing to add my support to the passage of Senate Bill 1. Seems to me that the teachers and students spend more time writing and conferencing on Portfolio than teaching and learning how to write. As for the CATS testing, all teaching and learning cease to exist while the children are "schooled" on what is expected on the CATS testing, therefore, losing almost an entire 9 weeks of learning.

The ACT allows calculators, too, so I'm not sure what the complaint is from another poster on here about CATS allowing calculators. I've been teaching for 11 years, and I am against SB1. I agree the portfolio system needs significant revision, but the rest of the bill would take us backward educationally in this state.

I think that Alternative Portfolios need to be added to the bill. The format and scoring are not an assesment of the students abilities, but that of the teachers ability to modify.

The intention of the CATS is to promote higher level thinking in all content areas. The intention and reality are completely opposite. Kentucky's public school teachers have become CATS prep instructors and have to cram content in where we can. Rep. Moberly and Education Secretary Lovejoy proved how disconnectd they are from the reality of public education on this week's Comment on Kentucky. I don't want to imply that ALL of the testing system is flawed. Some of the multiple choice questions and the on-demand are good testing instruments. It is unfortunate that the test doesn't tell us more specifically what the students' needs are.

Thank you Sen. David L. Williams! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I have had two children graduate from high school in the last six years. Unfortunately, both were educated under this system. I can tell you that each went to different colleges in KY (UK and University of Louisville)and at freshman orientation, both schools commented on the need to establish Writing Centers because the students just couldn't write anymore. Just ask the colleges if our kids are prepared. Take a look at how many writing centers have been established at universities and colleges due to this mess. Please don't back down. Get these portfolios out of our schools. If we would take the money spent on CATS and portfolios and actually put it into schools, we could raise the roof off ACT and SAT scores! If you even think about portfolios at the fourth grade level, you can see how silly it really is considering the developmental stage of this age group. Finally, it looks like we have some elected officials who are listening and looking out for our children. Thank you, Senator Williams. I applaud your effort and am ecstatic at the possibility of changes in the ridiculous assessments that have really hurt our kids going to college. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Finally, someone in Frankfort has some sense. The portfolios and CATS testing is so subjective. It is really sad what we have done to education in Kentucky. Thank God for Senator Williams and SB 1!