teach1st
10-03-2007, 04:44 AM
http://www.sptimes.com/2007/10/03/State/FCAT_high_school_goal.shtml
ORLANDO - A high-profile state advisory group is calling for an independent review of the fairness of FCAT expectations for high school students.
Led by Hillsborough County, school leaders across the state are questioning whether higher standards set for students in upper grade levels are reasonable. They point to dramatic evidence: Beginning in the eighth grade, student success rates on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test plunge. But the same kids continue to do well on a national test given at the same time.
Hillsborough Superintendent MaryEllen Elia is urging action. During a meeting Tuesday in Orlando of a recently established FCAT advisory group, Elia and Hillsborough's assessment director pitched a plan that would even out the standards.
"When we know we have a problem, we need to address the problem," said Elia, who is serving on the panel.
Florida Education Commissioner Jeanine Blomberg agreed that the matter needed review, but she stopped short of embracing Hillsborough's plan to lower the ninth- and 10th-grade reading cut scores that decide which students make the bar for proficiency under the state's high stakes accountability system.
More (http://www.sptimes.com/2007/10/03/State/FCAT_high_school_goal.shtml)
ORLANDO - A high-profile state advisory group is calling for an independent review of the fairness of FCAT expectations for high school students.
Led by Hillsborough County, school leaders across the state are questioning whether higher standards set for students in upper grade levels are reasonable. They point to dramatic evidence: Beginning in the eighth grade, student success rates on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test plunge. But the same kids continue to do well on a national test given at the same time.
Hillsborough Superintendent MaryEllen Elia is urging action. During a meeting Tuesday in Orlando of a recently established FCAT advisory group, Elia and Hillsborough's assessment director pitched a plan that would even out the standards.
"When we know we have a problem, we need to address the problem," said Elia, who is serving on the panel.
Florida Education Commissioner Jeanine Blomberg agreed that the matter needed review, but she stopped short of embracing Hillsborough's plan to lower the ninth- and 10th-grade reading cut scores that decide which students make the bar for proficiency under the state's high stakes accountability system.
More (http://www.sptimes.com/2007/10/03/State/FCAT_high_school_goal.shtml)