"What's likely to result is a narrower, lazier effort at accountability, with weak but expedient "program review" substituted for effective testing in some important parts of the curriculum. Certainly the emphasis that has been placed on writing portfolios will be diminished, if not lost, unless eventually salvaged by those who create a replacement for the Commonwealth Accountability Testing System (CATS). And, worst of all, the Kentucky Education Reform Act's original and longtime opponents now will be free to impose on the state the kind of inexpensive, off-the-shelf nationally normed testing they prefer — testing that gets at low-level knowledge and skills, in limited disciplines."
"It's the long-awaited opening for those who prefer the kind of accountability attached to the federal No Child Left Behind law, which, as Jefferson County teacher spokesman Brent McKim complained last year, "fails to address the needs of the whole child, and reduces the guiding purpose of education from the development of effective and contributing citizens to an unending quest for higher scores on tests that cannot assess what we value most in a democratic society — things like critical and creative thinking, problem solving, effective and persuasive communication, cooperation, perseverance, caring, respect and appreciation for diversity.""
"To solve this projected shortfall, we will have to do so again. I'm confident that we will. Working together, we must - and we will - search for creative solutions, make tough decisions and demonstrate firm resolve. Now is the time, once again, for Kentucky's leaders to come together for the good of this state."
"I wouldn't go anywhere in confined places now. It's not that it's going to Mexico, it's that you're in a confined aircraft. When one person sneezes, it goes all the way through the aircraft. That's me. I would not be at this point if I, if they, had another way of transportation, suggesting they ride the subway."
"The advice he is giving family members is the same advice the Administration is giving to all Americans: that they should avoid unnecessary air travel to and from Mexico. If they are sick, they should avoid airplanes and other confined public spaces, such as subways."
"Because the CATS’ aim was clearly faulty, legislators decided to relieve our teachers from its burden as much as possible while we develop a better set of education standards and a new test. That way, teachers can start to benefit right away from the latest developments in instructional research."
"But, facts never stopped die-hard CATS fans before. Now, those CATS fans would continue the myth and continue aiming our teachers in the wrong direction."
