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FCAT Fix Is Flawed, Critics Say

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By ADAM EMERSON

aemerson@tampatrib.com

Published: December 28, 2008

Last spring, Florida lawmakers sought to ease the pressure the FCAT applied on public high schools by developing a more rounded appraisal of student performance.

But those good intentions may end up putting more schools in the "needs improvement" category.

In an early proposal, state education officials have recalculated the grades given last year to Florida high schools by using a model that halves the weight of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test.

The results: Dozens of schools would drop a letter grade on the state's report card and the number of "failing" schools would double.

In Hillsborough alone, one simulation shows nine high schools would fall a letter grade, with one of them, Leto High, getting an F. Only one would improve - Armwood High School, which would rise from D to C.

While some of the state's original data is old - Leto has since boosted its grade to a C - Hillsborough schools Superintendent MaryEllen Elia says the new assessment adds a financial burden for districts forced to cut millions.

Previously, the only standard measure of a high school's success was the FCAT. The new grading formula calls for additional measures, such as graduation rates, advanced placement courses and college-placement tests.

Bringing all that together costs money, Elia said, and the Hillsborough district, for one, is preparing to cut as much as $55 million this fiscal year.

And a failing grade from the state may force a school to develop a costly improvement plan.

"I am not in any way shirking the concept of accountability," Elia said. "But I think we have to look carefully at something that will overwhelm our schools and districts at a time when they're trying to keep their programs."

Of nearly 400 high schools the state examined statewide, 129 dropped a letter grade and only 24 improved.

State Education Commission Eric J. Smith, however, cautioned against reading too much into the simulation. He said the Education Department's work on this is preliminary, but he said the effort will be "more reflective of what high schools do in Florida."

"We're raising standards," Smith said. "Wouldn't one expect to see a drop in those levels?"

The new grading system was supposed to offer some relief from a high-stakes test. After considering complaints that a school's grade, and reputation, relied exclusively on FCAT results, the state Legislature tried to take out some of the controversy by cutting the FCAT's emphasis in half.

But not everybody thinks the other half is much better.

The Hillsborough school district has been pushing more advanced placement courses in the classroom, but expansion of the more rigorous curriculum costs money - from training teachers to buying textbooks.

Results from college-placement tests could be hard to track, Elia said. A student's poor performance on the SAT or ACT could work against a school's grade, but what happens when the student retakes the test and attends college in another state?

Graduation rate data wouldn't count students who earn GEDs, and most schools expect that to work against them.

In Hillsborough, more than 300 students last year received a standard diploma under what's called a GED exit option. These are students in the district's career centers who also had to pass the FCAT. David Steele, the chief information and technology officer for Hillsborough County schools, said he fears the state may take out their numbers with the GED holders.

"We don't want them to just rush in and create a system without really studying it," Steele said.

Whatever system is used, one must be in place by the 2009-10 school year. By then, school districts will have cut millions more from their budgets.

School enrollment in Hillsborough County has flattened and tax revenue has fallen. The school district already has cut $26 million, but unless lawmakers come through with more education funding when they meet in January, another $29 million may have to be cut.

When asked what schools should do if the cuts deepen, Smith said the Legislature "decided this was a way to go," and the state couldn't wait for the economy to rebound.

"We can't afford that as a state," Smith said. "For those rising ninth-graders, that's an awful price to pay."

Reporter Adam Emerson can be reached at (813) 259-8285.

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