By Angela Hatton
Lexington, KY – Three education advocacy groups have partnered to track school progress. The interim assessment replaces the now defunct Commonwealth Accountability Testing System or CATS. The group includes the Council for Better Education, the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence, and the Kentucky Association of School Councils. The group will put out a yearly progress index that compiles test data. Kentucky School Council Association Director Ronda Harmon says the report is a service for the schools, not an evaluation.
"Schools and districts still want a measure of how they're doing and the public still wants a measure of how schools are doing. So we're trying to fill that gap there of information."
The reports will not include writing portfolio, arts, or practical living test information. Those topics were eliminated from state tests. The Kentucky legislature eliminated the CATS system April 1. A new system goes into effect in 2012.