teach1st
08-17-2005, 04:57 AM
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/education/sfl-pcharter17aug17,0,3654199.story?coll=sfla-news-education
If four more of its students had taken the FCAT math test, Survivors of Boynton Beach Charter School probably would have to close its doors.
The charter school, which serves high school students at risk of dropping out, received an F grade in 2004. Its scores on the 2005 Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test were low enough to earn the school a second F, its principal said.
The state has required school districts to shut down so called "double-F" charter schools. Last week, Delray-Boynton Academy and Riviera Beach Academy lost their charters. They plan to close today.
But Survivors stayed alive because the scores of only 26 students who took the math portion of the test were counted toward the school's grade. A minimum of 30 is needed.
"I escaped execution only because of a flaw in the grading system," said Marc Flamer, founder and principal of Survivors of Boynton Beach.
Survivors and many other charter schools have avoided penalties -- or in some cases rewards -- because they had too few students to be graded. Only 15 of the 35 charter schools open last year received grades. Several of the ungraded schools had FCAT scores low enough to possibly earn them an F.
Supporters and critics of charter schools say this demonstrates a problem in the way the state issues grades.
"A lot of times charter schools are able to fly under the radar screen because they are too small to be graded," said Mark Pudlow, a spokesman for the Florida Education Association, a teachers group that has been critical of charter schools. "There's a hypersensitivity to making sure everyone is graded within the traditional public school system, but a lot of slack seems to be given to charter schools."
Leaders at several charter schools don't like the state's grading system either, saying it punishes schools that take on a large number of at-risk students. They also recognize that it's unfair to shut down some schools and keep others open if their performance is similar.
Read more (http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/education/sfl-pcharter17aug17,0,3654199.story?coll=sfla-news-education)
If four more of its students had taken the FCAT math test, Survivors of Boynton Beach Charter School probably would have to close its doors.
The charter school, which serves high school students at risk of dropping out, received an F grade in 2004. Its scores on the 2005 Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test were low enough to earn the school a second F, its principal said.
The state has required school districts to shut down so called "double-F" charter schools. Last week, Delray-Boynton Academy and Riviera Beach Academy lost their charters. They plan to close today.
But Survivors stayed alive because the scores of only 26 students who took the math portion of the test were counted toward the school's grade. A minimum of 30 is needed.
"I escaped execution only because of a flaw in the grading system," said Marc Flamer, founder and principal of Survivors of Boynton Beach.
Survivors and many other charter schools have avoided penalties -- or in some cases rewards -- because they had too few students to be graded. Only 15 of the 35 charter schools open last year received grades. Several of the ungraded schools had FCAT scores low enough to possibly earn them an F.
Supporters and critics of charter schools say this demonstrates a problem in the way the state issues grades.
"A lot of times charter schools are able to fly under the radar screen because they are too small to be graded," said Mark Pudlow, a spokesman for the Florida Education Association, a teachers group that has been critical of charter schools. "There's a hypersensitivity to making sure everyone is graded within the traditional public school system, but a lot of slack seems to be given to charter schools."
Leaders at several charter schools don't like the state's grading system either, saying it punishes schools that take on a large number of at-risk students. They also recognize that it's unfair to shut down some schools and keep others open if their performance is similar.
Read more (http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/education/sfl-pcharter17aug17,0,3654199.story?coll=sfla-news-education)