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.

Are the school grades messed up?

Manatee school officials seem to think so.

According to this Herald-Tribune story, outgoing Manatee superintendent Roger Dearing is contending that the Florida Department of Education has deflated the recently released school grades by including the FCAT scores of new English-language learners. (The state says those results don't count until the kids have had two years of ELL course work.)

If that's true, 15 Manatee schools could see their grades rise, and the district's overall rating would rise to an A.

It also could have implications for the state's other 66 districts.

"If it happened here, I can't imagine it didn't happen in other counties," Dearing told the Herald-Tribune.

Is this another scoring snafu in the making? With millions in school recognition funds on the line, you can bet everyone is checking the data closely. Stay tuned.

Will they appeal?

Now that Florida's school grades are out, the next step is to look closely at the data. Part of the reason is to see where schools can improve. But another angle is to see whether any details might warrant a change in the grade.

Hillsborough County, for instance, had four D-rated elementary schools (Westshore, Robles, Just and Clair-Mel) that came within 4 points of receiving a C. Hudson Middle in Pasco missed a B grade by just one point. Tarpon Springs High in Pinellas missed a C by one point.

Pasco's research and evaluation director, Peggy Jones, tells the Gradebook that her department plans to analyze the data files that the state has sent out with an eye toward helping the district's two D-rated schools plus "anybody who is close."

The state closely reviews requests for grade changes (see rules here on page 21), and sometimes even grants them. But first districts have to appeal. The deadline to do that is Aug. 8.

Two A's, two B's

In our rush to bring you the latest school grades Tuesday, we forgot to mention what grades our districts got: A’s for Pasco and Hernando, B’s for Pinellas and Hillsborough.

Statewide, 32 districts earned A's, 25 got B's, eight got C's and two (Jefferson and Madison, both rural and snuggled up on the Georgia border) got D's.

Among the other Big 7 urban districts, Broward, Palm Beach and Orange got A's and Duval and Miami-Dade got B's. Click here to see more.

Ron Matus, Times staff writer

School grades up, AYP down

Potter Elementary School principal Tracye Brown, seated, checks out the school's state grade this morning while parent liaison Sylvia Knight-Brown, right, celebrates with assistant principal Kimberly Thompson. Looking on are Sharon Waite, left, a writing resource teacher, and secretary Klisa Smith. The school found out it had improved from an F to a C. [CARRIE PRATT | Times]

Florida schools posted a record number of A's and B's this year, but a growing majority of them also failed to meet federal standards under the No Child Left Behind Act, according to data released by the state Department of Education this morning.

Of 2,889 schools graded, 1,583 earned A's (55 percent) and 543 earned B's (19 percent). Meanwhile, the number of D and F schools dropped from 302 to 199. To see grades for individual schools, click here.

The improved grades are not a huge surprise, given statewide FCAT scores that rose in every grade and subject except fifth-grade reading. Students made especially strong gains in ninth- and tenth-grade reading, long a drag on high school grades. High schools also may have benefited from a tweak in the grading formula.

Study: High stakes hasn’t hurt low stakes

Does high-stakes testing in reading and math "crowd out" student learning in other subjects? Not if you're talking about science, and not if you're talking about Florida schools that struggle the most, according to
the latest working paper from Jay Greene and company.

Along with researchers Marcus Winters and Julie Trivitt, Greene (whose work in Florida on vouchers and retention has been both controversial and influential) took a look at FCAT science scores in F schools in 2001-02 and 2002-03. Florida began testing students in science in 2002-03, but didn’t begin factoring those scores into school grades until last year.

The conclusion: Science scores increased as much as reading scores did, perhaps because students with better mastery of basic reading and math can better learn science.

Greene's working paper was released this morning by the Manhattan Institute, where he is a senior fellow. The technical version is under peer review at a journal, but hasn’t been cleared yet, which is a concern raised often by Greene's critics.

- Ron Matus, state education reporter

School grades are coming

Sure, getting all those reams of FCAT scores has been fun. But the school grades and adequate yearly progress results are the main event.

And now you have to wait only five more days.

As a holiday gift, the Florida Department of Education has announced that it will release the grades on Tuesday, July 8, a week earlier than expected. Enjoy the weekend.

It's Charlie's turn to weigh in on FCAT

Gov. Charlie Crist has said in the past that he wants to "tweak" the FCAT and the way it gets used.

Now he has his chance.

Senate Bill 1908, which among other things decreases the importance of FCAT results on the state's grading of high schools, officially hit the governor's desk this morning. The bill also seeks to temper the state's FCAT culture by prohibiting schools from suspending the regular curriculum in favor of test prep.

Educators and lawmakers (even Democrats) have praised the bill as one of the better pieces of education legislation to come out of Tallahassee in a while. Crist has until July 4 to approve or or veto it.

Also on the governor's plate is SB 526, establishing a three-county pilot project that would allow student athletes at private schools to participate in public school sports. Earlier this week, Crist signed:

• HB 623, which requires school districts to consider universal free breakfast programs.
• SB 1906, which creates a pilot program offering high school credit to students in industry certification programs.
• SB 1414, which requires the Department of Education to annually evaluate supplemental education services providers.

The new laws take effect July 1.

Follow the trend lines

Florida's elementary school students may be "plateau-ing" on the FCAT. But the trend lines for middle and high school students are taking off, Education Commissioner Eric J. Smith told the Board of Education at its meeting in Tampa yesterday.

From 2001 to 2005, the number of students reading at grade level or above rose all of 3 percent in middle school, and 2 percent in high school.

But since 2005, it's a different story: According to FCAT scores released last week, middle school reading scores are up 10 percent (to 61 percent total) and high school scores are up 8 percent (to 42 percent). At the same time, the percentage scoring at the lowest level (Level 1) has dropped to 17 percent in middle school and 30 percent in high school.

Could it be that the state's focus on literacy in elementary school is finally pulsing up to higher grades?

"We're still a long way from success, but I like the trend line over the last four years," Smith told the board. "Is 30 percent too many scoring at Level 1? It's unacceptable. But the trend line is going in the right direction."

- Ron Matus, state education reporter

On that retention/promotion theory

Okay, maybe there's nothing to this notion. But given extra skepticism towards this year's FCAT, it's still worth a closer look.

Here's the theory: Fifth graders took an unexpectedly big dip on this year's FCAT because some of them were promoted to fourth grade when by state law they should have been held back and given extra help.

Yep. These are the same kids who, as third graders in 2006, took the now-infamous inflated FCAT.

According to figures from the Department of Education, the percentage of third graders held back in 2006 dropped to its lowest level since the state retention policy went into effect. In 2006, 6.8 percent of third-graders were retained, compared to 9.8 percent in 2005 and 8.1 percent in 2007.

In raw numbers: 14,151 third graders (out of 208,494 total) were held back in 2006, compared to 20,121 in 2005 and 16,676 in 2007. (To see more retention stats, click here.)

Is that enough to affect the 2008 scores? Education Commissioner Eric J. Smith said last week that students caught up in the 2006 retention/promotion question "probably wouldn't be a statistically significant group."

- Ron Matus, state education reporter

A weekend interview with ...

... Kurt Geisinger, executive director of the Buros Center for Testing at the University of Nebraska. Geisinger has been working with the Florida Department of Education to monitor and improve the FCAT exam, following scoring problems with the 2006 third-grade reading test. He spoke with reporter Jeff Solochek after the release of this year's scores.

Did the test scoring and the test results go better this year?

I think that's right, and in part because they had a larger what we call calibration sample. Calibration is one of those things that is very technical, but it basically gets around to the type of adjustments that we make to bathroom scales. Where you're raising it up or lowering it down a little bit depending on if the items are a little easier or harder than the previous year. ... If you have a test of 30 items, it's hard to generate a test that is exactly equivalent year after year. ...

Did you do them? Or did someone else?

No. We don't do them. We were hired for what I call an audit, which is to spot check some of the work. ... There are really four parties, and we were asked as part of our contract with the state of Florida to sort of listen in. So we were added to the e-mail listings that were going back and forth as they were looking to do the calibrations. Because it really is a very complicated mathematical and technical problem. And we thought they did a really fine job, and everything was within - even the one you are probably calling about, that is the fifth-grade reading - was still within the normal variation. I mean, people don't quite understand sometimes that this is not a truly exact science. So you look at even annual results for a state, and you say, If Florida were - actually the kids in the fifth grade - were improving their reading one or two percent a year, could on a given day the test result in a five percent decline? And that's actually not that improbable.

There are people in the schools, though, who are expressing their surprise at the fifth-grade reading and they're saying they don't jibe with their reality. They want to look at them more closely to see if there was a problem. You're saying there is no problem?

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

Bush's ed foundation on FCAT, grad rates

The spokeswoman for former Gov. Jeb Bush's education foundations has a few thoughts in response to leading Democrats' thoughts on the FCAT scores released today.

Outgoing House Minority leader Dan Gelber, running for the Senate, pointed out that while FCAT scores are up, Florida still has among the worst graduation rates in the nation. (60.8 percent vs the national average of 70.6 percent, according to Education Week's annual report.)”

Well, here's what Kristy Campbell, spokeswoman for the Foundation for Florida's Future, has to say:

"It’s disappointing Representative Gelber failed to mention that since accountability was introduced in Florida schools, Florida’s graduation rate has increased substantially. Looking at Education Week’s annual report, Florida has the second highest increase in graduation rates in the country -- a nearly 8 percent increase since 2001. Bottom line, education reform and accountability are transforming Florida schools.  

"We need Florida high schools to improve to ensure our students are competitive in an increasingly competitive global economy. Only continuing reform, not watering down accountability, will raise student achievement. We agree that the changes to high school grading made this year are a good first step to improving our high schools."

Dem. lawmakers jump on FCAT scores, urge reform

Outgoing Minority House leader Dan Gelber and Democratic Rep. Martin Kiar jumped on today's release of FCAT scores to urge further reforms to the FCAT grading system implemented by former Gov. Jeb Bush.

Kiar says the law passed this session that bases high schools' grades not just on FCAT but on grad rates, AP and IB exam participation, etc. is a good first step. But not the last.

Said Kiar, D-Davie: “Instead of limiting the reforms passed last session to high schools, we need to apply a similar grading formula to all grades. Only then will we know how our schools are performing overall.”

And Gelber, running for the Senate, pointed out that while FCAT scores are up, Florida still has among the worst graduation rates in the nation. (60.8 percent vs the national average of 70.6 percent, according to Education Week's annual report.)

FCAT scores up

FCAT scores in reading, math and science show small-to-modest gains statewide in every grade and subject but one, according to results for grades 4-11 released this morning.

Gains were particularly strong for ninth- and tenth-graders in reading, with increases of five percentage points and four percentage points, respectively, over last year's results. Despite the gains, a majority of ninth- and tenth-graders are still not reading at grade level.

This morning's biggest sore point: Fifth-grade reading scores are down five percentage points. But that was the lone drop-off from last year, leading Gov. Charlie Crist and Education Commissioner Eric J. Smith to accentuate the positive.

"Florida's students are to be commended for their hard work and steady progress," Crist said in a press release. "Academic achievement in Florida continues to rise," Smith said.

To see statewide results for reading, math, and science, respectively, click here, here and here. To see district results, click here, here and here.

Parents, you can view your students' scores through the FCAT Parent Network beginning at 6 a.m. Thursday. You'll need the secure login and password provided by your school.

FCAT coming tomorrow

Just a quick reminder for the test data junkies among you. The Florida Department of Education plans to release the state, district and school results of the FCAT math, reading and science sections for fourth- through tenth-grade tomorrow. It's a whole lot of information - we tend to call it a data dump - and maybe we'll find something interesting in there.

Count on this. School officials will immediately begin parsing through the information in hopes of figuring out their school grades and adequate yearly progress ratings before the state officially announces those in mid-July. As if they have nothing else to do.

Happy first full week of summer vacation!

Wait another week

Yet another round of FCAT scores - the big one, including the results for fourth- through tenth-graders - was expected to be released this week. No more.

K-12 chancellor Frances Haithcock informed superintendents late Friday that a variety of factors, such as having the tests scored at the same time as other states' annual exams, has delayed the release. Now the numbers are due out next week - after all our area schools have finished classes.

That can only hurt schools' efforts to get students who need extra help into summer programs (if districts can still afford them). But better to take the time to get it done right than hurry and face another scoring fiasco, right?

After the big data dump, just one final FCAT announcement will remain - the setting of school grades and adequate yearly progress achievement. That's not expected until mid-July (for now, anyway).

Retain away

Gradebook readers apparently like the idea of holding back kids who don't meet grade-level expectations on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. Admittedly, our survey is far from scientific. We don't even stop you from clicking in more than once. Still, here's how you responded to our question, "Should the state continue to use the FCAT to retain third graders?"

• Why limit this to third graders? Retain all kids who don't pass the test. 165 votes - 37%
• Yes. If they don't pass the FCAT, how can they do well in fourth grade? 147 votes - 33%
• No. The test isn't the best indicator of what kids know. 140 votes - 31%

Our new poll is now up in the left-hand corner of the page. Let us know your views on vouchers (and don't forget to vote for real in November, too). And please, we can't stress this enough, if you have any ideas for future questions, or any other thoughts about the Gradebook in general, send an e-mail to solochek@sptimes.com.

Florida students above national average

Depending on the grade and subject, the average Florida student is doing as well as 60 to 74 percent of his or her peers nationwide, according to test results released this morning by the state Department of Education.

The results are from the norm-referenced test that is given to students every year as part of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. The test allows Florida to gauge how well its students stack up nationally in math and reading.

The results vary grade by grade and year by year. Fourth-graders, for example, scored at the 71st percentile this year in math, down from the 77th percentile last year. Meanwhile, tenth graders moved from the 60th to the 71st percentile in reading.

Overall, in math, Florida's percentile ranking fell in five grades (third, fourth, seventh, ninth and tenth), rose in two (fifth and sixth) and stayed the same in one (eighth). In reading, Florida's ranking went up in four grades (fourth, seventh, eighth and tenth) and down in four (third, fifth, sixth and ninth.)

To view results, see the Department of Education web site here.

- Ron Matus, state education reporter

Another week, another round of results

All you school accountability junkies - and you know who you are - rejoice. The Florida Department of Education plans to release yet another set of FCAT results for you (and us) to pore over on Tuesday.

To recap, we've already seen writing scores, 12th-grade retakes and third-grade reading and math. Next up is the norm-referenced test results for fourth- through 10th-graders, so we can see how kids compare to their peers in other states (as far as NRT's go).

Still in the offing are what we refer to as the "data dump" of fourth- through 10th-grade FCAT Sunshine State Standards test scores, and then the big prize, school grades and adequate yearly progress results. Don't hold your breath for the grades and AYP rankings, though. They're not due until mid-July, as the FCAT truly is becoming the test that keeps on giving all summer long.

Schools see solid jump in third-grade FCAT scores

The latest third-grade FCAT results are out, and they bring good news: The Tampa Bay-area school districts and the state overall showed continued gains in both math and reading performance on the Sunshine State Standards.

In reading, 72 percent of third-graders earned a Level 3 or better on the five-point scale. That's up from 69 percent a year ago. In math, 76 percent reached Level 3 or better, up from 74 percent a year ago.

All four districts in the Tampa Bay area showed increases. Here are the passing percentages by district:

• Pinellas: 72 percent in reading (up two points from last year) and 78 percent in math (up one point from last year)
• Hillsborough: 71 percent in reading (up four points) and 74 in math (up two points)
• Pasco: 72 percent in reading (up four points) and 69 percent in math (up one point)
• Hernando: 76 percent in reading (up two points) and 78 percent in math (up two points)

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.

Higher percentages of seniors pass the FCAT

It's sad but true: FCAT scores for high school seniors who have to retake the test because they failed it in the past are never that good, and this year is no exception.

Statewide, 16 percent of them passed the reading portion of the test (up from 15 percent) while 32 percent passed the math portion (up from 26 percent), according to scores released this morning by the Department of Education.

Twelfth graders must pass both the reading and math portions of the 10th grade FCAT to graduate. They must also earn enough course credits and a passing GPA. Many who fail the FCAT also fail to meet the other requirements.

This year, 24,069 seniors retook the reading test, while 9,971 retook the math.

Here's the breakdown for Tampa Bay:

• Pinellas: 19 percent passed reading and 33 percent passed math.
• Hillsborough: 15 percent passed reading and 33 percent passed math.
• Pasco: 19 percent passed reading and 43 percent passed math (up 9 percentage points from last year).
• Hernando: 21 percent passed reading and 35 percent passed math.

Students have six chances to pass the 10th grade FCAT before they graduate, and can continue to take it as many times as they want after their senior year. They can also substitute comparable scores on the ACT or SAT.

Students who fail the FCAT (or fail to get a comparable score on the ACT or SAT) but who meet the other graduation requirements get a certificate of completion instead of a standard diploma.

To see the full breakdown, download this report. The FCAT Parent Network will be updated with individual student reports on Tuesday.

- Ron Matus, state education reporter

Parents can get FCAT results (really)

The FCAT Parent Network was supposed to give parents access to their children's FCAT writing scores beginning yesterday. It didn't work.

"A software upgrade resulted in a slower upload time of the files. A patch from the software company solved the problem," Florida Department of Education spokesman Tom Butler told the Gradebook.

So now it works. If you have a log-in, have at it. And stay tuned for more scores to come in the next few weeks.

Next up, FCAT retakes for seniors

The season of FCAT results is officially upon us, with the second set of data in two weeks due out Thursday morning.

Florida's K-12 chancellor, Frances Haithcock, has sent a memo to superintendents alerting them that the scores for seniors who retook the exams hoping to graduate on time will be online for districts at 6 a.m. Thursday. By 8:30 a.m., state and district summaries should be in the e-mail to all superintendents, testing coordinators and reporters.

But don't go looking for individual scores just yet. Those will be online next Tuesday, May 20 (if the state site for parents works - it didn't for a time this week, the Stuart News reports), and delivered to schools a couple of days later. See our post on last week's writing scores here. And be sure to check back Thursday for whatever info we can cobble together on the retakes.

FCAT writing scores are up

Florida students made gains in writing this year, with middle and high school students posting especially strong increases, according to FCAT results released this morning.

The FCAT writing test is given annually to students in fourth, eighth and tenth grades.

Statewide, 61 percent of fourth graders, 50 percent of eighth graders and 53 percent of tenth graders passed the test this year - up one point, five points and four points, respectively, from 2007.

In the Tampa Bay area, results were mixed. Pinellas made slight gains in all three grades, while in Hillsborough, fourth graders dropped three percentage points, eighth graders moved up four and tenth graders saw no change.

In Pasco, fourth graders were down two, eighth graders were up three and tenth graders were up four. In Hernando, fourth graders were up two, eighth graders were up three and tenth graders were static.

The test contains both an essay portion and multiple-choice questions, but last year was the first time both sections were combined into one score. The test continues to be in flux.

Last month, at the recommendation of Education Commissioner Eric J. Smith, the Board of Education nixed the multiple-choice portion for next year's test, and postponed using the entire test as another requirement for graduation. Smith cited concerns about cost and reliability.

This morning's announcement is the first for this year's FCAT scores. Results for other grades and subjects will be rolled out in coming weeks. To see the writing results by district, click here.

UPDATE: Commissioner Smith just weighed in on the results with a press release: "These results are evidence that the tremendous efforts of our teachers have a direct and positive impact on our children's futures."

The release also notes that parents can see their kids' writing scores via the FCAT Parent Network, beginning at 6 a.m. on Tuesday, May 13. They'll need to use the secure login and password provided by their school, the release says.

FCAT scores coming

Back in January, the Florida Department of Education warned school district leaders that the FCAT results could be delayed for a variety of factors. Officials then gave a list of dates representing the earliest that the scores would start appearing.

The first of those dates is upon us.

The FCAT Writing results, which were to come out no sooner than the week of May 5, are now due Thursday, the DOE has announced. The general public will get school, district and state numbers for the fourth, eighth and tenth graders who took the test, while parents will have to log in to fcatparentnetwork.com for individual results.

It's not the writing portion, which has seen generally rising scores for years, that has folks biting their nails, though. Heck, the state recently decided that the writing test won't even count for high school graduation after threatening for some time that it would.

Nope, it's the reading, math and science sections that can make or break schools on the edge, as well as third-graders and high school seniors whose promotion is on the line. And those scores aren't due out until, well, next week for seniors and the week after that for third-graders. That's if the department meets its marks, mind you.

And you thought with the end of session things would get dull.

How about an environmental FCAT?

Yeah, we've probably used that line before. But if former Gov. Bob Graham can go on and on about civics, and current Gov. Charlie Crist can go on and on about PE (and we mean that in a good way) then can't we go on and on about another vital subject getting short shrift in our schools?

Our broken-record impulses are set off by the fact that this is National Environmental Education Week (not to mention that Earth Day is coming up). And, sheesh, if school kids anywhere needed a stronger dose of environmental ed, it'd be ours in Florida, no?

To raise a little awareness, the National Environmental Education Foundation set up this neat little website so kids can measure their carbon footprint. So check it out, quick, before we're overrun by Mexican petunia and Burmese pythons …

- Ron Matus, state education reporter (AP photo, 2005)

New tests are definitely coming

Maybe we were all too fixated on the FCAT to notice, but the concept of end-of course exams has quickly taken root in Florida education policy. A few months ago, key state officials said they were looking at the idea (see this St. Petersburg Times story here) as a way to better measure student achievement in high schools. Now they're saying it's not a matter of if, but when.

In a teleconference this morning, Rep. Joe Pickens, R-Palatka and chairman of the House Schools and Learning Council, said end-of-course exams "will become a very major part of the accountability system in Florida." (Pickens, addressing a wide range of education issues during the call, also said rumors of the FCAT's demise are "greatly exaggerated.")

The chairman's comments echo statements made last week by Education Commissioner Eric J. Smith (see Palm Beach Post story here). They're also backed up by language in a bill that was unanimously approved by his committee yesterday. Among a host of other things, PCB SLC 08-01  would start the ball rolling on end-of-course exams, including allowing the commissioner to study their cost and impact on student achievement.

End-of-course exams are standardized exams. But unlike the FCAT, they'd be more directly tied to the courses high school students take.

- Ron Matus, state education reporter

Bill to ban FCAT prep gains key vote

The House Schools and Learning Council has unanimously approved a proposal that would make several changes to Florida's curriculum standards, including a prohibition on scrapping the curriculum to teach kids test-taking skills.

PCB SLC 08-01 would move the state toward end-of-course exams for high school students. It would require a social studies FCAT test. It would require that curriculum goals be aligned by subject and by grade level.

And it would require school districts to stop "teaching to the test," something that many people have argued can't be done because the FCAT only tests knowledge. But many districts have become ensconced in "FCAT frenzy," so much so that the Broward school superintendent recently banned the practice.

Council members spoke in full support, although Rep. Shelley Vana, D-Lantana, urged her colleagues to hash out a better definition of "teaching to the test" as the bill moves to the floor. After all, she noted, there might be a set of skills that a student needs to succeed in school and life, as well as the FCAT, and the schools should not deny that information.

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

Fired Lee teacher gives his side

It might have been easy to miss over the weekend. But Brian Dees, the East Lee High teacher fired for letting students keep dictionaries on their desks during the FCAT, appears to have offered a more lengthy explanation for his actions on the Gradebook deep within the comments.

He pointedly notes that most media outlets - primarily TV - didn't air much of what he had to say, and it certainly wasn't his "best 30 seconds" that made the cut. So, we decided to repost the comment here for your consideration. Maybe what he has to say will change what you think about his punishment. (Not familiar with the story? You might want to check this post first to see what we're talking about.)

"Since there has been a lot of talk on both sides of this, I thought I would defend myself personally.  Much has been made of how our scripts clearly stated that nothing could be on the students' desk except a #2 pencil.  What has not been told is that 8 foreign language dictionaries were placed in my room. 

I was testing 15 students.  WE WERE NEVER TOLD WHO WAS OR WAS NOT ALLOWED TO USE DICTIONARIES, AND WHAT KIND OF DICTIONARIES THEY WERE ALLOWED TO USE!!!  I kept all the dictionaries (English and foreign) on a table in the back of my room.  I have an IQ of 140, based on several tests.  But the administration doesn't care how smart I am or anything else about me.  The principal had never even talked to me before he hired me, except once when I approached him in the cafeteria.  They just liked me because I always showed up and was willing to do any job they gave me.

The school district doesn't want us to be smart, they want us to be robots.  Easily disposable robots.  I talked in front of cameras for 3 different networks for roughly 5 minutes each, and less than 30 seconds of my testimony made it into each segment, and trust me, it was not my best 30 seconds.  The district spokesman who was interviewed was NOT BEING TRUTHFUL, but anything I said refuting his statements was mysteriously edited out."

The test book, a pen or pencil, and that's all

East Lee County High School teacher Brian Dees and some of the seniors he was proctoring learned a hard FCAT lesson this week. All of them suffer. Here's the story:

East Lee hired Dees as a full-time reading instructor two weeks ago. He had been a substitute since November, at this school for five weeks.

Dees proctored the FCAT reading exam for 15 seniors on Tuesday. He let some of them have dictionaries on their desks during the test. That's not allowed.

Seven of the students' tests were invalidated. They will not be able to graduate on time. The next FCAT makeup comes in June.

Dees was fired Thursday.

He told the Fort Myers News-Press, which reported this story, that he received 30 minutes of training on how to give the FCAT and it didn't mention dictionaries. But the principal stated that the FCAT manual clearly indicates that nothing but pen and pencil can be within arm's reach.

Keep checking. More stories like this are likely to crop up before the end of the two-week testing cycle. They usually do.

Life, the FCAT and everything

Sad, but true: For more than three years now, one of us here at The Gradebook couldn't bear to part with a Sept. 29, 2004, press release headlined, "STUDENTS DRINK APPLE JUICE ON THEIR WAY TO BETTER TEST SCORES." Yes, incredibly, it was tied to the FCAT (but isn't everything? click here) so someday we knew we'd put it to good use.

And that day has come!

It was impossible not to think of the FCAT-boosting powers of apple juice this morning when reading about the four South Florida kids who nearly OD'd on Redline energy drinks. According to the story, the middle schoolers (all male, of course) were rushed to a hospital with increased heart rates and bloodshot eyes after each drank six of the caffeinated beverages. One parent said his son could have died.

The kids' motivation: They wanted to be alert for the FCAT.

Maybe they had the right idea, but the wrong drink? Here is what the Apple Products Research & Education Council  said in that 2004 press release: "You don't have to convince teachers and students at Barbara J. Hawkins Elementary School in Miami-Dade County that drinking apple juice can boost brainpower – they know it firsthand. Before the Florida Comprehensive Tests were handed out, each student got an apple juice box adorned with a sticker that read, "Yes I can!"

"The apple juice and inspirational stickers, along with a dedicated teaching staff that worked overtime, together have improved the school's average by two letter grades, going from a D to a B, in the past three years."

- Ron Matus, state education reporter

Did you know?

In case you've missed it (hard to do with reporters' obsessions these days), FCAT testing begins Tuesday. It's an anniversary for the exam, its 10th year of assessing - some might say harassing - Florida's schools and students. Opinions run strong on the FCAT. You love it or hate it.

But what do you know about it?

Even some of our own editors weren't aware that Jeb Bush was not the governor when the test debuted.

So reporter Ron Matus pulled together a 10-question multiple choice quiz on the FCAT for you to challenge your own FCAT knowledge. (Yes, we linked to this in the news roundup, but it's so much fun, we decided to pull it out for special attention.)

If you want to check it out, read on. And let us know how you did.

It must be that time of year

You know that FCAT season has rolled around when Jeb Bush's Foundation for Florida's Future sends out its annual defense of the exam, which engenders so much disdain among parents and educators.

As folks bemoan kids' test anxiety and schools' teaching to the test (which the foundation assures cannot happen), the foundation goes to bat for the FCAT by pointing out things like the fact that Florida had exams before the FCAT and that, contrary to public belief, Jeb Bush didn't create the test.

The group also points out something that has to make you wonder if it's good or bad, especially if the goal is high standards: "Students must only get approximately 20 questions correct on the 10th grade math FCAT in order to receive a high school diploma. Students also get 5 opportunities to take the grade 10 FCAT in order to pass it."

That's 20 out of 50, by the way, or just 40 percent.

Don't visit schools next week. They'll be giving the FCAT.

It could be even worse

Students and schools have a lot riding on the FCAT results. Some kids face retention, or remediation, depending how they do. Schools could end up being restructured, or having to offer families transfers out, if the scores aren't good enough.

It's a nail biter waiting for the numbers each year.

Expect this summer to be even more stressful.

The Department of Education has told superintendents that the results will come out even later than usual, with fourth through tenth grade scores expected no earlier than June 2, and school grades and AYP ratings coming no earlier than July 14.

Even those dates are ambitious, the DOE reports. If it weren't for the "extraordinary efforts" on the part of 13 school districts including Pasco and Pinellas, the scores could come out even later. Those districts have agreed to an aggressive test collection and pickup schedule in order to make the grading process move quicker.

What's going on? Florida is giving the test later this year (thanks for the delayed school start date, tourism industry), which puts the grading closer to that of other states. That makes it harder to get the work done quickly. The state also is taking steps to ensure it doesn't have a repeat of the scoring problems that plagued the 2006 third-grade reading test. (Add a week for that quality assurance effort.)

The upshot is that parents and educators will have even less time than usual to make key decisions about the coming school year. The test begins March 12. Good luck.

To read the DOE memo to superintendents, click here.

Just teach

There's a story in today's Boca Raton News about a $600 per hour consultant who's been hired to teach FCAT test taking strategies to about 500 kids at Manatee Elementary in Palm Beach County.

Some board members raised concerns, mostly about the cost, but they decided not to interfere with the FCAT - especially after the superintendent defended the expense, the paper reports.

Well, stories like this one (many of which have come out of Palm Beach County) have captured the attention of lawmakers in Tallahassee, who now are talking about doing something to stop it. Odds are good that a bill could emerge soon that would aim to bar the use of state funds for FCAT prep and perhaps even cut money to districts that suspend their curriculum in favor of test prep.

Here's what state Rep. John Legg, vice chairman of the House Education Committee and a deputy whip, told the Gradebook:

"One of the things you might see come forth eventually, and I don't know when or how, is this concept of teaching to the FCAT. Broward County has already suspended that concept. I think that's a very good approach. The Legislature does not want people teaching to the test. They want people teaching the curriculum, and the test measures it. All these months and months and months and months of prep work really, of FCAT prep, shouldn't exist. The only time a student should hear 'FCAT' is on test day. That's it. That's all it's designed for. Weeks ahead of time, it's not intended for that."

Committee chairwoman Anitere Flores hinted late last year that she would welcome such changes. The session starts next week, and FCAT comes a week later. Let's see where this goes.

(The image is from a Pinellas school teacher's web site accompanied by the phrase 'tame the FCAT.' Get it?)

Who doesn't like the FCAT?

Sure, 44 percent of respondents to a Times poll said they believe the FCAT has hurt Florida's education system. But did you know more women feel that way than men do? Or that non-white respondents were more likely to say the FCAT has helped than hurt?

The poll article and accompanying chart (click on it to see the full-size version) give just a snapshot of what we learned. Even we newspaper reporters get only so much ink to tell a story.

But we want to offer more. So if you're interested in the full poll results for the questions underlying today's news, you can download them here.

Do or die

No two ways about it, this year is a make or break one for dozens of schools around Florida and the country. It's the fifth year of No Child Left Behind sanctions, meaning a huge number of schools that don't make "adequate yearly progress" for the fifth straight year under the law could face "restructuring" in 2008-09.

What does that mean? If kids don't do well enough on the FCAT, their schools could lose their staff, get taken over by the state or be converted to less heavily regulated charter schools, among the tougher options. And it doesn't matter if the state rates the schools an A or an F, or if they met 97 percent of the criteria for AYP.

"It just shows the total misalignment of (Florida's) A-plus and No Child Left Behind," Palm Beach superintendent Art Johnson told the Palm Beach Post.

Florida has created rules that would impose less stringent penalties on the A and B schools. But penalties still would go into effect.

A second Palm Beach Post story today suggests that the state's poorest schools are the ones that face the most significant changes.

Perhaps most important is how schools react to this information. Some districts, like Palm Beach, have "turned off" their curriculum for test prep leading to the FCAT. Others, like Broward, have forsaken "FCAT frenzy" in favor of a more low key approach. It's a question, one Pasco principal told the Gradebook, of whether you want to teach kids testing skills or academic skills.

It will be enlightening to see which philosophy leads to better results.

The FCAT writing exam begins Feb. 12, and the rest of the test starts March 12.

Did FCAT really eat the arts?

It's repeated so often it's taken as gospel: Florida's fixation on FCAT basics has forced schools to drastically cut back on art, music, social studies and other subjects. But has it really?

Maybe not, at least not with art classes, suggests a report prepared by the Senate Education Committee and presented to the committee last week. Looking at information that school districts submitted to the Department of Education's data warehouse, the committee staff found that between 1999-2000 and 2006-2007, the percentage of students enrolled in arts classes jumped a lot in grades 3-5; increased a little in grades 6-7; and decreased a little in grades 8-10.

More specifically, the percentage enrolled in arts in third grade jumped from 54.6 to 71.1, while the percentage in ninth grade fell from 20.3 to 16.2. "The data is insufficient to establish a causal link between the FCAT and arts enrollment," the report concluded. To see the report, click here and go to page 24.

- Ron Matus, state education reporter

Like freed slaves with second thoughts

Just so you know, we're hitting the doozy-alert button: Critics who continue to demand that the FCAT-centric system installed by former Gov. Jeb Bush either be overhauled or dismantled – despite some signs of academic progress - are like freed black slaves who had second thoughts about freedom, says state Board of Education Chairman T. Willard Fair (left).

Some freed slaves "were overwhelmed by the demands of freedom and wanted to go back," Fair, who is black, told The Gradebook during a brief phone interview this week. In the same vein, he continued, there are some accountability critics who "no matter how much progress we're making, they say, 'Let's go back.'"

Those who follow education in Florida know Fair, a Jeb ally who was re-appointed by Gov. Crist, does not shy from the occasionally blunt and, depending on where you stand on the ed reform spectrum, eye-popping remark. At a BOE meeting in 2006, he told Gov. Bush: "In my judgment, there is no greater person on this Earth than you. I love you." A few months later, he heaped praise on departing Education Commissioner John Winn, likening him to Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. (for more on that, click here).

Fair's latest remarks came in response to a few questions from The Gradebook about the future of accountability in Florida. He was asked about yet another poll showing how unpopular the FCAT is; continued criticism of the System that Jeb Built (like this for example); and the Jan. 9 report from Education Week magazine that gave Florida credit for strong academic progress (see St. Petersburg Times story on that here).

"It's very difficult," Fair said, "for some people to admit to themselves and to the public that they were wrong."

- Ron Matus, state education reporter

'Dumbing down the house'

Normally we don't do this, call out a specific Gradebook comment from the pack we receive each week. But this one, filed quietly on a Saturday under the daily news report, just cries out for your attention. Can't say who wrote it. The name of the commenter is listed only as "David Byrne Talking Heads," and that links to Suzie Creamcheese's Hillsborough schools-related The Wall blog.

So start humming the Talking Heads song Burning Down the House and enjoy this parody, Dumbing Down the House. (PS: If you know who wrote this, let us know, so we can give proper credit.)

Time out,
you could be found out later
Cool stoolies
Board that has no borders
It’s no or-din-ar-y try
Dumbing down the House

Hang loose
Wait 'till the tests are over
Hang loose
we got the Papers snookered
Its much ea-si-er to-day
Dumbing down the House

That’s the ticket spin the phrase time to get the stooge on board
temper dictates with fear
Close enough will get you by,
maybe you don’t have to try
Fix the data with data

Get set
They have no need to worry
Downtown
Schemes simmer in broad daylight
One hun-dred eight-y days a year
Dumbing down the House

I will try it with straight face award a bonus to myself
never show any grace
Board will rubber stamp my work, public what did you expect
potted plant, smiling face

(solo)
Dumbing Down The HOUSE!

My class
Is less than ordinary
That’s right
Don’t want to flunk nobody
Some things sure can in-sure your defeat
Dumbing down the House

No visible means of support
and we have seen no data yet
Every thing's smoke and mirrors
You don’t know what to expect
not sure what you are gonna get
Fight your fires with liars

FCAT panel off the line

The advisory panel convened to review problems with the FCAT is meeting in Orlando right now. The agenda looks to be interesting. Commissioner Eric Smith was supposed to make opening remarks around 1 p.m. and then kick off conversation on accountability testing. Then would come discussions on an expert's recommendations and on new rules coming related to school grades and alternative schools.

We hoped to be able to bring you news of this meeting. But an hour after first trying to join the session via conference call, we gave up, unable to get through. So instead we'll try to bring you information from the meeting at another time. If you've got some details, meanwhile, please add a comment below.

Time for a makeover

Florida Education Commissioner Eric J. Smith (left) has opened the door to changing the formula for grading schools, offering the strongest sign yet that Florida's accountability system is in line for a makeover.

In an interview with the St. Petersburg Times editorial board, Smith said measures such as participation and scores on high-caliber Advanced Placement tests and industrial certifications for vocational students should be considered in a discussion about revamping school grades.

"We probably need to look at a broader array of tools to measure school performance," said Smith, who began work as Florida's new education czar last month.

The current grading system, put in place by former Gov. Jeb Bush, hinges entirely on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, which measures student performance in reading, writing, math and science. It carries with it both a stick (the stigma of a bad grade) and a carrot (reward money that is often divvied up into modest teacher bonuses).

Smith's comments dovetail with other recent signals that change is coming.

Definitely an anomaly

The independent testing expert that's been reviewing Florida's problematic 2006 third-grade FCAT reading scores has issued a report saying that the error "clearly appears to be aberrant."

"By inspection alone, it is clear that the shape of it