Last Updated on Thursday, June 26, 2008 at 5:01 AM
News Advisory 08-050 - June 25, 2008
(FRANKFORT, Ky.) – The first meeting of the Task Force on Assessment and Accountability will be held on Tuesday, August 5, in the State Board Room of the Capital Plaza Tower in Frankfort.
The meeting will begin at 1 p.m. and is scheduled to end at 4 p.m. The tentative agenda includes discussion of the group’s work, procedures and future meeting dates.
The task force will review the Commonwealth Accountability Testing System (CATS) and provide a blueprint for the system’s progress in the future to ensure that the system meets the best interests of public school students. Members of the group include policymakers and experts in the field.
Education Commissioner Jon E. Draud asked statewide organizations, partner groups and leaders of the Kentucky Senate and House of Representatives to name members to the task force.
The task force will seek input from teachers, administrators, parents, businesspeople, elected officials, education advocacy groups and others. The group will analyze individual components of CATS and determine the effectiveness of those in meeting the needs of students.
Task force members are:
- Jim Applegate, vice president for Academic Affairs, Council on Postsecondary Education
- Joe Brothers, chair, Kentucky Board of Education
- Dale Brown, superintendent, Warren County (representing the Partnership for Successful Schools)
- Paula Eaglin, Kentucky Association of Professional Educators
- Jenny Lynn Hatter, instructional supervisor, Harrison County (representing the Kentucky Association of School Administrators)
- Rep. Jimmy Higdon, 24th District, Lebanon
- Brenda Jackson, past president, Kentucky School Boards Association
- Sen. Dan Kelly, 14th District, Springfield
- Mike Lafavers, principal, Boyle County Middle (representing the Kentucky Association of School Councils
- Roger Marcum, superintendent, Marion County (representing the Kentucky Association of School Superintendents)
- Sen. Vernie McGaha, 15th District, Russell Springs
- Rep. Harry Moberly, 81st District, Richmond
- Helen Mountjoy, secretary, Education Cabinet
- Sharron Oxendine, president, Kentucky Education Association
- Rep. Frank Rasche, 3rd District, Paducah
- Speaker of the House Jody Richards, 20th District, Bowling Green
- Wayne Roberts, district assessment coordinator, Wayne County (representing the Kentucky Association of Assessment Coordinators)
- Rep. Carl Rollins, 56th District, Midway
- Sandy Rutledge, president-elect, Kentucky PTA
- Bob Sexton, executive director, Prichard Committee
- Diana Taylor, Kentucky Chamber of Commerce
- Sen. Johnny Ray Turner, 29th District, Drift
Since the membership of the task force was originally announced in early June, Suzanne McGurk, representing the Kentucky Community and Technical College System, has joined the group. To provide additional geographic and racial diversity, Education Commissioner Jon Draud also named Marlene Helm, Ed.D., with Lexington Fayette Urban County Government (and a longtime educator), and Steve Stevens, with the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, to the task force. Dave Spence, president of the Southern Regional Education Board, will serve as facilitator for the group.
NOTE: Although earlier communications indicated that the task force would hold its first meeting in July, scheduling conflicts made it necessary to set the first meeting in August.
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