What do you think of the FCAT honesty pledge?

From the Sun Sentinel, By Marc Freeman,

The addition of an honesty pledge in this year's FCAT is generating a mix of criticism and support from parents and education advocates.

Moments before standardized testing began Monday, the statewide parent group FundEducationNow.org said Florida Department of Education has "no business putting our children in the position of repeatedly promising not to cheat."

"The parents of Florida are losing patience with the steady flow of negativity and punishing 'reforms' directed at our children, their teachers and their schools," group co-founder Kathleen Oropeza of Orlando wrote in a statement.

The 37-word pledge appears in the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, and end-of-course exams: "I agree that I will not give or receive unauthorized help during this test. I understand that giving or receiving such help during the test is cheating and will result in the invalidation of my test results."

Education department spokeswoman Cheryl Etters said the new pledge is intended to "make it clear Florida takes the issue of cheating seriously."

"The idea of the student pledge is a long-standing practice in testing typically employed by colleges and in other high-stakes testing environments," Etters said, adding it reminds students about the consequences of cheating.

Parent Mark Halpert, of Boca Raton, a critic of the "testing frenzy" caused by the FCAT, said he thinks the pledge is helpful.

"Making sure honesty is part of the equation is a good thing," said Halpert, co-president of the Learning Disabilities Association of Florida. "How can you be against an honesty pledge?"

Juan F. Alonso, an education volunteer from Boca Raton, disagrees.

"Is the state Board of Education lowering the bar on morality by admitting that cheating on the FCAT is a common behavior by the students and expect that a signed piece of paper by them will improve the records on cheating?" he asked.

Last year, Florida invalidated nearly 7,000 FCAT results across the state, citing extremely similar test answers. It was a tiny percentage of more than 4 million completed standardized exams.

mjfreeman@tribune.com or 561-243-6642

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/palm-beach/fl-student-honesty-pledge-protest-20120417,0,1690180.story