- April 26, 2024
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In order to more accurately compare Florida’s educational success to that of the rest of the country, the FCAT will be replaced with a new standardized test by 2015, according to a Tuesday, May 15, presentation from Chancellor of Public Schools Pam Stewart.
The incoming PARCC test (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers) is part of “Common Core” learning standards, a national system to replace current Sunshine State Next Generation standards.
Florida will be one of 45 states using the PARCC assessment.
“I would be remiss if I didn’t talk about what happened today,” Stewart said, referring to the preliminary FCAT writing scores released that morning. “(Grades) had really plummeted. … No one knew (the increased rigor and higher cut scores) would have this big an impact.”
She also announced that the Florida Department of Education, in a meeting that afternoon, agreed to lower the passing grade back to a 3 instead of a 4, out of 6. (“FCAT passing rate” at www.PalmCoastObserver.com for more.)
The meeting with the chancellor had Stewart acting as a sounding board on which officials in the district could relay their thoughts on standardized testing.
“We have completely gone off the rails with how we handle standardized testing,” School Board member Colleen Conklin said, asking whether a portfolio system had ever been considered for students who “don’t test well.”
Trevor Tucker agreed that standardized testing is not ideal, but he was hesitant to discount the system as a whole.
“You have to have some type of measure,” he said.
“To me, (the bad writing scores) have emphasized yet again the (dangerous) nature of this scoring,” said Katie Hanson, teachers union president. “One test on one day is not a true picture of a kid, and it’s not a fair picture of a teacher.”
But Stewart stood her ground.
“I think the FCAT has, over time, proven to be a fair measure,” she said. “(It) is seen as being a very valid and reliable assessment.”
However, she admitted that the state might have “missed the mark” with retraining teachers on how to instruct students to write final products instead of drafts. The state is also forming standard-setting groups to recalibrate what a 4 essay looks like, she said, as compared to other scoring levels.
“(But) there’s a credibility issue with the grading,” board vice-chair Andy Dance added. “We’re basing school grades (and) teacher evaluation (on it), and it seems like DOE can’t even get the grading of the test correct.”
From placing 32nd in the country in 2006, Florida improved its national educational ranking to No. 5 two years ago, Stewart said, and dropped to No. 11 last year. But it remains difficult to accurately compare schools when every state issues different tests.
That’s where PARCC and Common Core comes in.
According to Stewart, the new standards model is an “evolutionary step” that is going to revolutionize classroom instruction.
“(Common Core) is not a shift in concept, as much as a shift in instructional practice,” she said. “Students are going to own their own learning, do more of the talk … the research … the looking.”
For some FCAT-opposing School Board members, like John Fischer, who said that the test “limits the teachers and it also limits the child in their growth,” national standards seem appealing.
But Conklin remained skeptical. She hoped that Common Core narrows expectations.
A proclamation formally opposing standardizing testing will be included on the board’s next meeting agenda. In June, teams of administrators and staff will begin training for the standards shift.
Email Mike Cavaliere at [email protected].
