Schools try to ready minds,win hearts to CATS exam
By Joe Parrino, NEW ERA STAFF WRITER
Saturday, April 21, 2007 12:47 AM CDT

Like lily pads, the hula hoops lay a path for teenagers to leap across the Hopkinsville Middle School gym.

Seventh-grader Alanie Coleman’s team beat the other leapers to the finish line. But the race only got them the first crack at a question about nutrition. They had to answer correctly to win. Coleman and her teammates conferred over the task: match up vitamins, proteins and other nutrients with their dietary functions.

The question was not random. Teachers lifted it straight from material prepared for the Commonwealth Accountability Testing System (CATS). The state assessment, which factors in subject areas scores as well as nonacademic measures such as attendance, begins next week.

Friday was CATS Madness, an energetic rally meant to fire up students for the test. HMS like most Christian County Public Schools on the spot for stagnant CATS scores is devoting significant time to reverse attitudes toward the test.

“I feel ready,” said Alanie Coleman as her team celebrated victory.

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