KEA Position on Student Assessment

3/5/2010

KEA supports a position on student assessment to provide both immediate relief from CATS and the creation of a longer range better system of student testing and accountability. 

KEA’s proposal reduces the current CATS system to what is required by the federal No Child Left Behind law, which would reduce the subjects tested and the time required for testing.
 
Meanwhile, the state would re-examine the standards teachers are expected to teach, with the aim of narrowing them so students can master the standards. KEA believes the new standards should be fewer, clearer, more concise, and better focused. The effect would be to end our current “mile wide and inch deep” curriculum.  KEA also has a long standing policy that portfolios should be excluded from the Accountability Index.
 
In addition to developing new, better standards, the Commonwealth would also create a new student assessment and accountability system, one that best measures student progress toward mastery of standards. Such an assessment system would also promote good teaching. Teachers, along with experts in testing and other educators, would be deeply involved in developing the new standards and new assessment system.  KEA is working with key legislators to get these concepts written into a bill to be proposed to the General
 

KEA also supports the concepts in a recent white paper (see Files associated with this Hot Topic) from the Kentucky Department of Education and the superintendents’ association concerning long-range changes in assessment and accountability.

KDE White Paper