| ||||||||||
 
Dr. Ronald P. Rogers CHIROPRACTOR Support for your body's natural healing capabilities 270-384-5554 Click here for details 
  
Columbia Gas Dept. GAS LEAK or GAS SMELL Contact Numbers 24 hrs/ 365 days 270-384-2006 or 9-1-1 Call before you dig 
Visit ColumbiaMagazine's Directory of Churches Addresses, times, phone numbers and more for churches in Adair County Find Great Stuff in ColumbiaMagazine's Classified Ads Antiques, Help Wanted, Autos, Real Estate, Legal Notices, More... 
|
Adair students wrapping up year with more rigorous KY tests Gone is the Commonwealth Accountability Testing System, better known as CATS. Testing now in second week. The tests are tough. Commissioner Terry Holliday warns parents to expect sharp dip in scores - but it's the standards changing. Instructional Supervisor Phyllis Curry expects scores back in September 2012. Superintendent Treece has faith Adair teachers are rising to occasion, as they've done before. By Alan W. Reed, Federal programs/Media Relations Coordinator News from the Adair County, KY School District Replacing CATS is the state's new system known as Unbridled Learning. Its major focus is on college and career readiness. And it will ultimately track the extent to which students succeed after high school. Jane Branham, principal at John Adair Intermediate School says for the past year teachers at her school have been gearing up for the new state tests. "The state has demanded more rigorous coursework for students, and the new state tests reflect the expectation," she said. The subjects tested are the same, with strong emphasis on reading and math, but the kind of tests students are taking are very different. "These tests are tough. Adults would struggle with much of the content," said Branham. The type of test students will take depends on their grade level. Students in grades three through eight are completing the Kentucky Performance Rating for Educational Progress (K-PREP). K-PREP includes norm-referenced test items that allow comparisons between individual student performance and the performance of other students. Also included are criterion-referenced test questions that will be used to determine whether a student has learned a particular set of skills. Under the old CATS system, student tests consisted entirely of criterion-referenced items. State and district educators feel it is useful to have both types of data. Meanwhile, ACHS students have just completed the end of course exams in Algebra II, English II, Biology and U.S. History. Besides being factored into a student's state score, the results will determine twenty percent (20%) of the final grade in a particular class. Students in grades 10-12 also participated in the On-Demand portion of K-PREP. In an effort to ensure all students are college and career ready when they leave ACHS, students also have to take the ASVAB, KYOTE, COMPASS, and Advanced Placement (AP) exams. Some ACHS students have also taken the vocational test known as KOSSA. Dr. Terry Holliday, Kentucky Commissioner of Education says the state is essentially starting over with the new accountability system. The new system, operating under the Kentucky, Unbridled Learning umbrella, is designed to push competitiveness on the international level. Holliday has consistently stressed the need for a more prepared workforce with the expectation that student take on more science and higher-level mathematics coursework---courses with increased "rigor". He cautions Parents that the percentage of students scoring proficient or higher on the state tests is likely to be down from last years. "It was obvious students, teachers and administrators were feeling the added pressure of the new test," said Phyllis Curry, the school district's Supervisor of Instruction. "Just the sheer size of the test booklet has been intimidating and the fact that all the tests had to be given in a much shorter time frame (five days versus ten under the old system) has really pushed students." Branham says her students practiced a lot during they year with the style of questions they were likely to encounter on the state exams. "Our students have taken the test seriously. We wanted to stress the importance of doing well while at the same time trying not to make them so nervous and anxious. At the same time, it's a brand new test and we're not sure what the results will look like." Superintendent Treece went on to say he believes Adair teachers will rise to the occasion as they always have when faced with challenges. "They did it with KERA, then CATS, and now K-PREP (the name for the testing component of the new program)," he said. According to Phyllis Curry, the projected release date for this year's K-PREP test is sometime during September, 2012. In years past, schools have had to wait until well into the next year for the results making it difficult to make changes in the curriculum in time to make a difference on the next round of tests. - Alan W. Reed This story was posted on 2012-05-07 11:52:03
Printable: this page is now automatically formatted for printing.
Have comments or corrections for this story? Use our contact form and let us know. More articles from topic Education:
Campbellsville University 2012 Spring Graduates Adair Students Excel in national learning and math contest CU Carver School the 1st Somerset center Cardboard Nation Melissa Keith, Columbia, KY: APTA National Student of the Year! Openings available for Camp KickIt 2012 summer camp Camp Casey Summer Program Fair is April 26, 2012 Kentucky CPE sets tuition ceilings, approves dual credit policy So proud of son, coach, and rest of ACHS FPS team Adair Co. A-Teams have have banner year at State! CU dedicates outdoor classroom next to School of Theology View even more articles in topic Education |
 
115 Jamestown St. Columbia, KY. 270-384-2496 
  
   
 Provided by the Adair Co Fiscal Court and the Adair Co. Emergency Mgt. Agency 
|
||||||||
|
| ||||||||||
|
Quick Links to Popular Features
Looking for a story or picture? Try our Photo Archive or our Stories Archive for all the information that's appeared on ColumbiaMagazine.com. | ||||||||||
|
Contact us: Columbia Magazine and columbiamagazine.com are published by Linda Waggener and Pen Waggener, PO Box 906, Columbia, KY 42728. Please use our contact page, or send questions about technical issues with this site to webmaster@columbiamagazine.com. All logos and trademarks used on this site are property of their respective owners. All comments remain the property and responsibility of their posters, all articles and photos remain the property of their creators, and all the rest is copyright 1995-Present by Columbia Magazine. Privacy policy: use of this site requires no sharing of information. Voluntarily shared information may be published and made available to the public on this site and/or stored electronically. Anonymous submissions will be subject to additional verification. Cookies are not required to use our site. However, if you have cookies enabled in your web browser, some of our advertisers may use cookies for interest-based advertising across multiple domains. For more information about third-party advertising, visit the NAI web privacy site.
| ||||||||||
