And, they haven’t even been released

The pending release of what should be dramatically lower public school test scores across Kentucky has triggered a big media campaign to cushion the shock. WHAS 11 TV weighted here yesterday with their two-segment coverage.

There are some amazing revelations in this video.

Around 33 seconds into the clip WHAS 11 reporter Joe Arnold says Jefferson County Public Schools told him that this is a new test and these are new standards that paint an HONEST picture of how students are performing.

Imagine that. If scores drop dramatically with an honest test, what kind of test did we have before?

Around 4 minutes and 35 seconds into the clip WHAS says Fairdale High teacher Mary Kenzer told them she had to “relax” her grading under the old CATS system so students wouldn’t flunk. Now, Kenzer says she has to grade like she wanted to grade before, making sure students know the material.

Well, if students have to know it now, but got graded more softly under CATS, it seems obvious Kentucky’s kids really didn’t have to know much under CATS.A student told WHAS 11 around 4 minutes and 49 seconds into the clip that the school system is no longer holding her hand. She has to know the material on her own.

My, how refreshing!

Why did it take over two decades and the intrusion of the federal government to get our schools to start doing this?

Mr. Arnold says in this clip that the first set of new test scores are scheduled to release sometime in October. That is a change from comments I recently heard that the release would be on October 15th. However, Arnold ends the clip with an interesting comment that the new scores might kick up some dust with school board elections, which would occur shortly after the scores come out – IF the Kentucky Department of Education stays with an October release date.

Could it be that the scores may get delayed more? Say, until after the election? Stay tuned.