Budget cuts = shrinking FCAT?

If you're no fan of the FCAT, state budget cuts may have a silver lining. According to a list of possibilities (see pages 16 and 17) recently outlined by Education Commissioner Eric J. Smith (left), the DOE could eliminate the reading and math FCAT tests for ninth graders if budget cuts go deep enough.

The Legislature appears likely to cut hundreds of millions of dollars or more from the state education budget this session, part of some $2.5 billion it may need to cut overall because of declining revenues. According to a presentation Smith and other top DOE officials made to the Senate education appropriations committee, the department would put other parts of its testing program on the chopping block before the FCAT, including eliminating some of the lesser-known tests it uses to see how Florida kids are doing compared to their peers nationally.

But the FCAT could get sliced, too. DOE listed the ninth grade tests, along with the multiple-choice component of the FCAT writing exam, if further cuts are needed. Ending computer-based testing for the FCAT is also down on the list, along with slowing down alignment of future FCATs to updated Sunshine State Standards.

Don't get too excited, FCAT haters. There is a limit to how much FCAT the state can nix. The federal No Child Left Behind Act requires every state to annually test math and reading in grades 3-8, and in one high school grade.

- Ron Matus, state education reporter

Comments

[stepbystep]

And now for a little entertainment:

http://www.notonthetest.com/

A little song to get you on your way.

[dixi.teacher]

DMJ

Are you currently a teacher?

[DMJ]

For every 2 kids you show me who cannot compose a paragraph I will show you 10 who can. Some seek to blame drop out rates on schools and ignore the real issues.
Kids get plenty of help before they drop out. But it is easy to blame schools which are a microcosism of the communities they are in.
High standards are enforced most of the time.

No, I beg to differ, DMJ. High standards cannot be accomplished if they are not enforced. This is one area where FL fails big time. Placing expectations on paper mean nothing if they cannot be met. Kids can, and do, get moved through with elementary reading and math levels. I have personally seen kids at age 16 come into a program, be tested repeatedly over a period of time and not be able to compose a basic paragraph or perform multiplication. Not one kid, not two, but many.

High standards would mean we only accept the best staff possible and do whatever needed to ensure that those are the people in classrooms. High standards would mean that kids who are not succeeding get the help they need BEFORE they drop out, instead of pushing them through until they give up, washing our hands of those the school system has failed (see the dropout rate?). FL has repeatedly failed in these aspects and no test is going to make up for that.

[DMJ]

"Florida and high standards? HA! Kids in middle and high schools often test at elementary school levels in reading and math."
Thanks for making my point. This is why we need high standards. These same students show (a vast majority) significant learning gains in their high school years. With high standards we are helping each day. In the old days we just passed them along. Not now sunshine. A vast majority make great progress. The ignorance of what goes on, from some, would choke a horse. We move them to where they need to be to graduate. Kids cannot graduate with an elememtary or middle school reading level. Our assessments make sure of that. In the old days these kids were shoved through.

Florida and high standards? HA! Kids in middle and high schools often test at elementary school levels in reading and math. Not 5th grade for a 6th grader. We're talking 2nd grade levels for 16 year olds. And the kids PASS their classes and make it to high school without fundamentals. High standards? Umm, no. Having one test that might be tough is not a high standard. TEACHING them consistently, kids actually LEARNING new things and progressing - perhaps if we did those things, we could say FL has high standards. But certainly not now.

FL is the perfect place to set kids up for failure. We don't teach them basics, we won't help many in need until it's too late, and then if they do grade well they can fail the entire year because of one test.

Buck up, termie, because when Marco cuts the public schools back to the dark ages, things will get much better.

[DMJ]

I see the most beautiful salads being made each day.

[terminator]

DMJ:
sorry for being rough on you but....did you ever consider the other states don't need the same accountability we have because they have functioning school systems, responsible parents and students who actually want to learn?
Florida with it's service sector economy that's mostly reliant on tourism and agriculture coupled with our "do it on the cheap" mentality has led to our present situation of haves and have nots.
Florida's large number of minority and "disadvantaged" populations handicap the state's ability to compete evenly with other states.
Like the old saying goes...."you can't make chicken salad out of chicken *hit"!

[DMJ]

Our assessments are top notch. I have seen what most states use and they are not close to our quality. This is not the old days of "Anyone can graduate." You need to show skills in reading, writing, math, science, and soon social studies. High standards were absent for years. Sorry if you want to give away diplomas. Our standards are high and I have looked at what other states offer. It should not and is not easy.

[terminator]

DMJ
you must be on acid.
Floriduuuh and high standards don't go together.
it just goes to prove there are a lot of dumb students and dumb parents out there.
we MIGHT beat Mississippi in the brain bowl but I wouldn't bet on it.
did you just blow in from stupidtown or what?

[DMJ]

This blog shows the problem with the average citizen. People love low standards. Florida has high standards for graduation. No more giving away diplomas- sorry. What qualifies as an A in some clases is a joke. Anyone use to be able to get a diploma with no idea how to read. Thank God for FCAT and high standards.

[Timmy!]

Geez "kepp" like it or not, you just made Leo's point.

Hey, I'm willing to give you a "do over". Take a shot.

Address how we can make fewer public employees do more work for less money.

I'm willing to listen. Just write slow, so I get it all.

[kepp]

hey leo, why dont you blow it out your a**? you clearly sound like a mud duck, or a snow bird. g.t.f.o of florida if you dont like it, a**hole.

[Leo]

Had Floridians payed attention while in school, they would understand that cutting taxes will equal cutting services (EDUCATION, for example). Kids won't get as good an education because the teachers won't be as good (don't wanna pay 'me? We can always hire people straight out of McD's. I am sure that the HS dropouts from there would be thrilled to make even $30,000 a year!). Now, we want to make sure that a future generation of voters is as dumb as the current one. Yay! Go Florida! We can all be stupid! At least we have the beach!

[kepp]

they should cut the whole fcat all together. when i was in high school, they made it impossible to pass the grade even if you had straight a's if you failed the fcat. they spend all year teaching you how to do the fcat rather than teach kids what they really needed to know to live on their own. thats why most kids these days drop out of school.

GOP, how are we going to implement the class size amendment, which the PEOPLE OF FLORIDA VOTED INTO LAW??? I guess if you don't like it, you just cut taxes until it can longer be funded, right?

On both the national and state level, the BUSH family thumbs it's nose at the voters whenever it suits their purpose. When will we get sick of this treatment and vote them and ALL GOP out of power?

[Ray]

Cut the whole thing. Hillary is not a big fan of these tests being abused the way they are. If you are not going to adaquately fund the schools why fund these tests anyway??

That's one cut I can live with.