Politics
Anatomy of FCAT Failure: School Districts Didn't Read or Heed Writing on the Wall
Around the State
Kamela Patton and Amber Winkler
Back on July 5, 2011, all districts were sent a memo advising that the 2012 test would be more rigorously graded than previous versions.
"It wasn't a secret," DOE spokeswoman Jamie Mongiovi told Sunshine State News on Wednesday. The memo, headed "Changes to FCAT Writing," spelled out how student essays would face tougher grading on spelling, punctuation, grammar and overall essay construction.
Districts were also informed that the passing grade would be raised from 3.0 to 4.0.
Still, district superintendents whined on Wednesday about "miscommunication" from Tallahassee.
"Somewhere there's a miss. Somewhere there's a disconnect," Collier Superintendent Kamela Patton complained to her hometown paper, the Naples Daily News. "There's no way scores drop 50-to-60 points."
Yet the precipitous decline in scores into the 30 percent range -- down from the 80 percent of previous years -- should have been no surprise in districts where local officials ignored the DOE's warnings and failed to take proactive action in the eight months leading up to FCAT.
Ruth Melton, director of legislative relations at the Florida School Boards Association, said DOE warned districts they were going to face a different, and stricter, grading regimen this year.
Melton specifically said districts were informed there would be emphasis on grammar, punctuation and spelling that downplayed the prevailing pedagogy of so-called "whole language," which de-emphasizes those skills and relies on more free-flowing expression and such computer-based tools as spell-check.
Classroom instructors at districts contacted by Sunshine State News confirmed that DOE's tough message had been sent and received. But though the message was the same, not every district responded in the same way. In some cases, old instructional materials, and old thinking, prevailed -- to the detriment of students.
"It was clear you had to get a 4.0 instead of a 3.0 (to pass), but some districts were still stuck in what they've done in the past," a source told Sunshine State News on condition of anonymity.
Bowing to pressure from districts and parents, the state Board of Education, meeting in emergency session on Tuesday, voted to lower the passing score to 3.0 in an effort to hold districts "harmless." That nearly 20 percent inflation in the passing standard meant that roughly 80 percent of students would pass the test -- putting the passage rate nearly back to where it was in the 2011 exams.
But, as Sunshine State News previously reported, an inexplicable chasm has long existed between the lusty passing rates on FCAT writing tests and those of FCAT reading results, which historically run around 40 percent in elementary grades and the low 30 percent range in high school.
The results from the 2012 writing battery -- poor as they were -- were more closely aligned with the reading scores, which national test experts say is more scientifically credible. Students in fourth-, eighth- and 10th-grades sit for the writing tests, though passage is not required for grade advancement or graduation.
Amber Winkler, an education researcher with the Thomas B, Fordham Institute in New York City, said, "Like it or not, there are real consequences to raising expectations, including that many kids won’t be able to meet those expectations initially, but it is best to ratchet them up than be content with the status quo or cave in to political pressure."
See the DOE's letter to school districts about the 2012 FCAT writing exam here.
Contact Kenric Ward at kward@sunshinestatenews.com or at (772) 801-5341.
Comments (19)
The article states "Yet the precipitous decline in scores into the 30 percent range -- down from the 80 percent of previous years -- should have been no surprise in districts where local officials ignored the DOE's warnings and failed to take proactive action in the eight months leading up to FCAT."
Eight months is not enough time for newly implemented programs to effect the current years scores. It would have been more practical to implement the tougher grading and leave the passing score at the previous level which is what was accomplished in the emergency meeting. The emergency meeting was held so that the board could correct their mistake of implementing too many changes too quickly.
As an educator in the classroom, I can tell you that I taught grammar everyday that I met with my students. We worked on grammar for at least 25% of every class period. Now, I challenge you to write a polished piece of writing in 45 minutes on a topic with which you may or may not be familiar. The research writing - over 30 years worth - indicates that quality writing is a process. Ask K. Ward how long it took to write this editorial. My guess is that this opinion column went through several revisions before it was a polished piece. As I said earlier I have no problem raising the bar, but it should be consistent with what the research says about how quality writing is created.
Yes, teachers were told that there would be increased expectations, but there was no training on how the shift would impact the scoring. We had to figure out what the changes would do ourselves. When FCAT writes first debuted in 1994-5, the state average was below a 3.0 ( maybe 2.4 or 5). The state provided train the trainer scoring sessions so that districts could provide similar training to their teachers. I attended several of those trainings. After doing so, I had a much better understanding of how I should be scoring student work and I was not alone in this increased understanding. The next year (1996), the state average increased to 3.4 or 3.5. Teachers and students can rise to the challenge if the target is clear, but in this case I am not sure that teachers and students had a clear understanding of what the new 4 would look like.
I have no problem with raising the bar. However, the state is now expecting students to produce a more polished piece of writing in the same time frame - 45 minutes. In addition, after years of teachers being told that FCAT writes is a draft and that the scorers would score the piece as a draft, now they are scoring it as a "finished product." This shift to expecting a more polished piece does not align with everything researches know about the writing process. Effective writing involves prewriting, writing, drafting, editing, revision and publication. If the state wants a more polished piece, they should give students the time to edit and revise. Go ahead and raise the bar, but let's do it in a way that aligns with everything we know about writing.
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When I was a child and when someone couldn't hold a pencil correctly, it always seemed to be a slower person in the class. It seems almost common now for people to not hold a pencil correctly.
The parents should be the true 'customer' for an education system or the educator hired to teach their children. Yes, the parent. That would be the ultimate salvation for our children.
Also, with all the lowering of standards... no one dares talk about race. As we turn into a third world country, all this is typical of what will be happening, and more. It will be worse 5 years from now. It will be worse 50 years from now... much worse.
GET THE GOVERNMENT OUT OF THE SCHOOL BUSINESS.
Almost don't need to comment - the very concept (and the blatant racism expoused by the writer) effectively self-destructs on its own non-merits.
We can only hope that becomes your new method of operation. Why don't give your views and let that speak for itself. I gave my views... lets hear yours.
A novel idea here Frank.
Let's face it since the Carter established Department of Education and the liberal takeover of the Department the US went from No. 1 in every aspect of learning, including math and science. Now it ranks about 20th amongst the industrialized nations. Give the schools to the parents and let them run it - No BOE, No DOE. Taxpayers will save money, and kids will be better educated.
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