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Tests can begin anytime of the year and are usually delivered within 2-3 days (For our Test Security, we do not email the test papers). Should you wish to proceed, then please email: kodeshabilitytests@gmail.com

Questions and Answers Can you quickly summarise how KATS works? To get the full understanding you need to watch the video. We send to your school a multiple choice test paper. The papers are sent back to us for computer marking. We then generate a report for your school and the parents. Every talmid/a is awarded a score between 1 - 100. A score of 100 would indicate fluency in Gemoro (Rashi & Tosfos) and/or Chumash (Rashi) expected at an appropriate age. The report also gives you a target of where your talmid is expected to be using the data of many thousands of tests. Its that simple, but incredibly accurate and reliable. Assessments are done every half or full year. Can Vocabulary really be used to measure a Talmid’s ability in Gemoro (or Chumash) as it leaves out the IKAR which is the abiltiy to understand Meforshim and the Gemoro? A Talmid that has an ability to learn independently a piece of Gemoro, Rashi and Tosfos (or Chumash Rashi) will have attained a certain level of fluency. This fluency can also be translated into the knowledge of key words and phrases. In KATS we managed to pinpoint and extract (over many years and thousands of children) those key words that a fluent learner knows. There are a huge amount of these key words, much more than anyone could learn by rote or through any vocabulary list. It can only be attained through continued exposure to an advanced level of learning. On the other end of the spectrum, a beginner will only know a limited amount of key words in Gemoro (or Chumash). By amalgamating the data from thousands of children from all different levels, we are able to know, through their knowledge of key words, how independent they are, and what level they are on the 'Independence Continuum.' Any Talmid that can score, the maximum score of 100 will easily be able to work out independently a piece of Gemoro, Rashi Tosfos - this we have verified over very large statistics. It would be impossible for anyone  to memorize the amount of words necessary to score 100 in KATS. It is therefore solid indisputable evidence of fluency. Of course, understanding the Gemoro is the most important skill than just translating it, but one thing is for sure, if they can't translate, they can’t be independent in Gemoro! KATS makes sure they are on target to be independent by a certain age. It is the job of a Rebbe and Teacher to develop the Iyun skill, and that must also be tested for, because both Iyun and fluency make up an independent learner. How can you create a standardized tracking system when some schools such as a Charedi Cheder want their Talmidim to be fully independent in Gemoro by age 14, whilst others by age 18. The beauty of KATS is that it was designed to accomodate different types of schools. It will automatically adjust itself for your type of school, or by discussion with the Menahel. Many Chasidishe schools want their Talmidim to be fully independent by the Bar Mitzvah year - no problem, we can adjust for that. How can I prepare my Talmidim for the Test? The short anwer is that you cannot directly prepare you Talmidim. Like any authentic standardized test, there is no preparation for KATS. KATS is a Barometer on a scale of 1-100 on how independent your Talmid is. There is no curriculum or syllabus for KATS. How then do I increase the level of my Talmid’s or child’s score? Over the long term it is very simple. More and more Chazoro (revision), and making sure they can identify each word rather than learn the entire phrase by rote. Doing this will ensure the Talmid will pick up the words. Do you use the same Test Paper each time? No. Each time there is a different test paper. Each test is moderated to the exact same level using the large amount of data we have from thousands of children. We are a very busy school, is there a lot of admin involved with KATS? No admin whatsoever is involved for the school. All we ask for are class lists. We then pre-print the names of the Talmidim on the tests and put them into class envelopes for you. All the school needs to do is give each Rebbe his envelope and allow 10-15 minutes per test.  Once the tests are collected they are returned to us with the enclosed mail bag. We then process all the results and you can download them online (print in the UK). In one day an entire schools of hundreds of children can effortlessly can be tested in their classroom without any disruption! Will it make a difference what Gemoro or Sedra I am learning with my Talmidim? We know that every Rebbe learns a different Sedra or Gemoro, so KATS was designed to accomodate whatever a Talmid is learning. For this reason we do not test words that only appear in a specific Parsha or Sugya. Do I have to change my style of teaching to concentrate more on vocabularly rather than the understanding of the Parsha or Sugya B’Iyun (in depth)? You should definetly not do that. The IKAR learning is IYUN. Rather, when you are testing or giving homework make sure to throw in a reasonable amount of translation as well. You will anyway find that the Talmidim will begin to make a greater effort to learn the translation by keeping their finger on the place and so forth, becuase they know they will be tested on it every half year. Very often the father of the Talmid will get more involved if he sees a low test score. I am a Rebbe that teaches privately, or a psychologist that would like to assess my student. Can I use KATS? Our policy is to only allow schools and yeshivos to use KATS. I am a Menahel in the USA. Are the standards different to the UK? They are all the same standard. We are all looking for the same thing; that our Talmidim should leave school as Independent Learners. I am a Menahel in the USA / Canada. How do you send the Test Papers? We ship them with DHL and they are usually with you in 2-3 days. You complete the tests, and we arrange and pay for collection of the papers by courier.  Usually within a few days the results are ready. This includes a report for the leadership team and a report for each parent with all the previous test scores included. Why is KATS so cheap (a typical boys school doing  will only be paying $1.25 per test)? This is a fraction of any other type of standardized test that is available in the non-Jewish world? KATS is a major breakthrough in Chinuch and was not set up as a business. We want every child to benefit so no one should ever fall through the radar. Due to popular request we translated it into Yiddish. Schools in Switzerland requested that we translate it into Swiss German which we aim to do so by the end of the year, followed by a translation into French. Finance permitting, it would be nice to translate it into Russian so they too can benefit.  Kol Yisroel Areivem Ze Lo Ze. The priortity is to keep costs low so that every school can participate, and every Menahel/es, Rebbe and Teacher can look back over their career and state with a genuine conviction that together we never left even one Yiddishe kid behind.

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