DOE: Nothing wrong with school grades

Contrary to assertions made in newspaper reports this morning, Department of Education officials say there is NOT a problem with school grades in Manatee County or anywhere else in the state.

"Absolutely, definitively not," DOE spokesman Tom Butler told The Gradebook.

According to the Bradenton Herald and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, officials with the Manatee County school district said the state may have mistakenly counted the test scores of students whose first language is not English. District officials also said the problem may extend beyond Manatee.

"If it happened here, I can't imagine it didn't happen in other counties," Manatee Superintendent Roger Dearing said, according to the Herald-Tribune. "I don't think we are the only school district that this happened to," Judy Laurent, associate director of Title I schools, told the Herald. Both papers reported that 15 or so Manatee schools could be affected, and that their school grades could be revised.

DOE officials said the students in question did not take the FCAT, which school grades are based on. Instead, the students took an alternate test that does not count towards school grades, but does count towards a federal rating mandated by the No Child Left Behind Act.

DOE officials said it's unclear if anything went wrong with the reporting of those scores. They said they have yet to receive a formal appeal from Manatee officials, and they need that to "determine if there is an issue or not," Butler said.

The appeals deadline is Aug. 8.

- Ron Matus, state education reporter

Comments

[get real]

There may not be a problem with ESL students, but there is a problem with grading schools. Imagine if we only gave students one test all year and that determined their grade for the whole year... Don't count any learning, academic or otherwise that happens every day of the year. Oh wait, we already do that to students in grades 3 and 10. Great idea!

[terminator]

knowing this bunch of chuckleheads, they wouldn't know the difference between their *ss and a hole in the ground.
Didn't Manatee file for financial urgency? Their union won't even meet with them and are at impasse.
Dearing is a total douchbag who is going to take over the great brain trust known as (the FHSAA).
Their board is a bunch of dipsh*ts.
I don't live there but have family there and keep abreast of these issues. Most of the board members don't have a clue what's going on.
Would you trust Manatee? I wouldn't.

[What?]

Get real and I had the same idea; The state would finally admit its A+ plan is a farce.It is skewed by SES. Rats! The politicians still
will use a distorted lens so the public can be misled. I thought a bit of conscience had evidenced itself.
Business, or should I say , politics as usual.

Dear terminator,

Is there any district or superintendent who you would trust?

The problem with the budget in Manatee and almost every other district in the state is that your boyfriend Marco wouldn't provide enough funding. In fact, the most recent cuts that districts are planning are for the next round of cuts that the Legislature hasn't even made yet because we all know that it is coming.

You, my sad little friend, are the bag!

[terminator]

what did Marco ever do to you?

you must have wanted him to pick you up one night at Cafe Cabernet or the Painted Lady and he cast you aside.

yeah, Marco cut funds, Chuck Crist cut funds, Ken Pruitt cut funds, they all cut funds.

the districts are now on their Jenny Craig diets and they don't like it one damn bit!

the straight jacket will only get tighter my friend, rest assured!

Again. Terminator, please list one superintendent who you would trust and at least one well run district. You have been working in education policy since Cain killed Able for his hightops and it seems that you think that you are the only person working in public education policy that cares about anything. I know that you are wrong little man. I know of many well run districts and many fine superintendents, but after your decades of work, I think that you are just old and tired and need to quit.

Don't even bother posting a reply without providing one name and one district because I will hound you as the sorry sad sack of a windbag that you are until you admit that there are good people working for public education. Unfortunately, you are not one of them.

termie is posting on the boards, but he is ignoring the message above because he just can't stand being called out.