Get ready, third-graders

The Florida Department of Education plans to release its much-anticipated third-grade math and reading FCAT scores on Wednesday. Each year, schools anxiously anticipate these results, knowing they could mean the difference between promotion and retention for thousands of nine- and ten-year-olds.

This year holds extra meaning, though, as it's the first third-grade release since the state admitted a year ago that it botched the 2006 reading test scoring and calibration. Since then, the department has convened a high-powered committee and hired out-of-state testing experts to make fixes. We'll let you know how things shake out.