CATS taken seriously by most students

CONTACT: Michael T. Childress

FRANKFORT, KENTUCKY (October 11, 2000) —Statewide survey results suggest that only a tiny fraction, about 3 percent, of surveyed 16- and 17-year-old Kentucky high school students say “I don’t try at all” on the statewide test known as CATS. Many believe that high school students don’t really try their best on the CATS test. In fact, a recent proposal to the Kentucky State Board of Education would tie a student’s CATS score to his or her GPA as a way of motivating the student to do their best on the CATS test.

Survey data released by the Kentucky Long-Term Policy Research Center reveal that about 53 percent of surveyed 16- and 17-year-old high school students say “I do my very best,” 44 percent responded “I try,” and 3 percent answered “I don’t try at all.” These percentages are based on 994 responses. However, according to Michael Childress, the Center’s executive director, “these estimates might slightly overestimate the percentage of those who try their very best and slightly underestimate the percentage who don’t try at all.” The reason, according to Childress, is that students with higher GPAs were more likely to complete the survey and they are more likely to try their best.

The exact wording of the question is: In your junior and senior years of high school you are required to take the CATS test (Commonwealth Accountability Testing System), formerly known as the KIRIS tests. These tests are designed to assess your academic progress, your high school’s overall academic performance, and to provide a basis of comparison with other Kentucky students and schools. When you take the CATS test, how hard do you try to really do well?

1. I do my very best
2. I try
3. I don’t try at all
4. I have not taken the CATS test

The careers of teachers and school administrators can be affected by how well their students perform on the Commonwealth Accountability Testing System, or CATS, and over $22 million will be divided this school year among 618 Kentucky schools based on how well students performed on the test last spring.

The survey revealed important differences on the basis of income, gender, grade point average, and grade level in the percentage of students who say “I do my very best.” For example, approximately 65 percent of the students from families with annual incomes less than $20,000 say “I do my very best,” compared to around 49 percent of the students from families with annual incomes over $70,000 (see Figure 1). According to Childress, “these results certainly complicate our attempts to understand how students from less affluent schools are performing relative to those in more affluent schools. An implicit assumption to studies that compare performance between ‘rich’ and ‘poor’ schools is that all students exert about the same effort on the exams, but these survey results cause us to question that assumption.”

Figure 1: Attitudes Toward CATS Test by Household Income

The survey also shows that girls tend to take the test more seriously than boys. About 58 percent of the girls and around 45 percent of the boys say “I do my very best” (see Table 1).

Table 1: Attitudes Toward CATS Test by Background Characteristics

Finally, the survey provides some empirical evidence of seniors taking the test less seriously than underclassmen. Some have referred to this phenomenon as “senioritis.” Approximately 54 percent of 11th graders and 42 percent of 12th graders say “I do my very best” (see Table 1).

The 39-question survey asked 16- and 17-year-old high school students about postsecondary education decisionmaking and planning, time management, and attitudes and opinions on a range of other topics. The survey was administered from June to August, 2000, by the University of Kentucky Survey Research Center for the Kentucky Long-Term Policy Research Center. The data are being analyzed by education policy researchers at the University of Kentucky. The preliminary results of their analysis will be discussed at the Kentucky Long-Term Policy Research Center’s annual conference on November 13 and 14 at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center in Covington. Additional information about the conference is available on the Internet at http://www.kltprc.net/conference2000.htm or by calling 800-853-2851 or 502-564-2851 (ext. 10 or 11).