“CATS: An Inadequate NCLB Basis for School Improvement” is available from the Bluegrass Institute for Public Policy Solutions.
Kentucky is avoiding reporting the test scores of student subgroups even though the data are mandated by the federal No Child Left Behind Act, concludes a study.
The report-conducted by the Bowling Green, Ky.-based Bluegrass Institute for Public Policy Solutions claims that the Commonwealth Accountability Testing System, or CATS, does not offer adequate assessments of the academic performance of specific or small groups of students. In 2005, for instance, it says more than 81 percent of Kentucky’s elementary schools were not held accountable for the academic performance of their pupils with learning disabilities, along with 56 percent of middle schools, and almost 75 percent of high schools.
