A bigger worry in FCAT land

Not to diminish all the skepticism about the fifth-grade FCAT scores, but this year's elementary school results may point to a bigger worry: An overall slowdown in the progress of elementary school students.

Since former Gov. Jeb Bush made the FCAT the centerpiece of his accountability agenda, students in the early grades have made the biggest strides. But this year, the percentage of elementary students reading at grade level stalled at 70 percent.

"We're beginning to see a plateau-ing," Education Commissioner Eric J. Smith told reporters in remarks that were mostly, but not completely, overlooked. "I think it emphasizes the point that we as a state need to move to the next steps, the next generation of focus on reading achievement and academic excellence in the state at the elementary level."

- Ron Matus, state education reporter

Comments

[Timmy!]

Easy. After repeatedly being hit in the head with a hammer eventually you get used to it, then ignore it, then accept it as "part of life".

I must say this is the first time I have fully agreed with anything JP has written.

Might be a foreshadowing of sorts.

[John Perry]

Oh, lord. Smith ought to know better. This is what happens with ALL of these tests. When first introduced, scores are lower because it's new to everyone. As time goes on, teachers get better and better at teaching to it, so scores climb. Eventually, there's not much more room to go up, so scores plateau. Ignorant and demagogueing public officials start bleating about "need to move to the next steps, the next generation of focus on reading achievement and academic excellence in the state," the gullible and sensationalist media jump on the bandwagon, and eventually, after much anguish over the terrible state of education today, a new test is born.

Repeat.

Ad nauseum.

How is it that hardly anyone is noticing this idiotic pattern?