from the Palm Beach Post, by Jason Schultz
John I. Leonard High School is offering to bump up students' grades as much as two levels in reading, language arts and writing classes if they do well on their FCAT standardized tests, according to teachers and district officials.
And it's at least the second year the school has done this, despite complaints about it from teachers to district staff a year ago.
A copy of the John I. Leonard High School 2011-2012 FCAT Incentives form given to teachers at the high school earlier this year, and obtained by The Palm Beach Post Wednesday, outlines the incentives being offered to students for good scores on the Florida Comprehensive Achievement Test.
John I. Leonard ninth- and 10th-grade students who maintain proficiency on their reading FCAT by scoring at least a 3.0 or gain at least 78 points on the test and who pass their final exam in a reading or language arts class will receive a two letter-grade bump in their grade on that final exam for the course.
Students who get a score of 4.0 or better on the 10th-grade FCAT writing test will get a one-letter-grade increase in the grade for the final nine weeks of their English class.
FCAT scores factor heavily into the grade that individual schools and the district receive from the state Department of Education each year, but they are not factored into students' grades.
State Department of Education spokeswoman Cheryl Etters said Wednesday that legal counsel looked into the incentives being offered by John I. Leonard and could not find any state statutes that addressed the issue.
"It's totally silent. It doesn't say anything," Etters said.
She said individual districts and schools have the authority to determine grading scales for classes.
District spokesman Nat Harrington said the school district does not have a specific policy governing what incentives a school can offer to students in connection with FCAT. Principals have the authority to decide what to offer, he said.
A teacher at John I. Leonard brought the incentives to the attention of district officials last April when they were being offered. That teacher emailed district officials and board members again this year claiming Chief Academic Officer Judith Klinek had promised last year that the incentives would not happen again. The teacher questioned whether colleges and universities could fairly judge students' applications if a school were artificially inflating grade-point averages.
Klinek, who is retiring in the fall, was not able to immediately comment on the incentives when reached.
After John I. Leonard teachers emailed board members questioning the incentives, school board member Karen Brill sent an email to Klinek and Superintendent Wayne Gent asking for an update on the issue and saying to Klinek, "I thought you stated to me as well that this practice would end."
Gent referred questions to Harrington. John I. Leonard High School Principal Terry Costa could not be reached for comment.
Harrington said the district would likely organize a committee of principals to study what incentives are offered and what incentives are appropriate and give principals guidance on the issue.
Tom Whatley, spokesman for the Facebook-based group Testing is not Teaching-Palm Beach County Citizens United to Make a Difference, questioned the fairness of the John I. Leonard incentives, saying the school is giving falsely inflated grades as students are applying to colleges. He also questioned whether it was sanctioned by the school board. Whatley said if the school board hasn't approved the incentive, it shouldn't be offered at any school.
School board Chairman Frank Barbieri, as well as board members Jenny Prior Brown and Chuck Shaw, said they were not aware of the incentives and needed to look into the issue before commenting.
John I. Leonard has nearly 2,500 students this year and received a B grade from the state last year. According to the district's "Gold Report," 79 percent of 10th-graders who took the writing FCAT last March received a score of 4.0 or above. For the reading portion of the FCAT, 30 percent of ninth-graders and 28 percent of 10th-graders who took the test last year scored a 3.0 or above.
According to the district's FCAT schedule, 10th-grade students took the FCAT writing tests between Feb. 28 and March 1 but can retake the test for a better grade from Monday until April 20. The reading tests for ninth- and 10th-graders will be administered between April 16 and April 20.
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/schools/fcat-reward-john-i-leonard-highs-practice-of-2284280.html?cxtype=rss_schools
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