Another Floirida school district comes out against the FCAT. Duval still silent

By Scott Travis, Sun Sentinel

Broward County school leaders are speaking out against what they see as a nasty four-letter word: FCAT.

The School Board unanimously passed a resolution Wednesday opposing standardized testing as the primary means for evaluating schools, students and teachers. They say there is so much focus on students doing well on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test that it's thwarting teacher creativity and hindering students' ability to learn.

They say many students are being poorly educated on subjects not directly tested on the FCAT, including history, art and music. At the same time, the tests have become so stressful that kids are staying home sick, skipping school and dropping out, they said.

Rick Scott "This is destroying public education, destroying the teaching profession and destroying children," School Board member Robin Bartleman said. "The classroom should be fun. Kids should be excited about learning and not be afraid they're going to be punished for one test."

The resolution asks Gov. Rick Scott, the Florida Department of Education and state and federal lawmakers to revamp state and federal accountability systems so that they include a variety of measures to determine how students perform.

The resolution claims standardized testing is "an inadequate and often unreliable measure of both student learning and educator effectiveness."

The effort is part of a national movement, where parent groups and school boards are signing petitions and resolutions opposing high stakes testing. The Palm Beach County School District passed a similar resolution in April, and Martin and St. Lucie counties have also joined the fight.

Florida will soon tie teacher pay to how well students' perform on the test. Schools are graded based on the scores and can receive extra funding if they score well. If a school receives an F grade from the state or fails to meet federal Adequate Yearly Progress standards, its students can transfer to another school.

Anti-FCAT sentiment has intensified in recent weeks, as this year's test scores have proved disappointing. Third-grade reading and math scores dropped slightly, while writing scores for several grades were so abysmal that the state Board of Education voted in an emergency meeting to loosen the school grading criteria so there wouldn't be large numbers of failing schools.

Officials from the Department of Education and Gov. Scott's office couldn't be reached for comment Thursday, despite attempts by phone and email.

Opposition to the FCAT was strong in the board room Wednesday, with students, parents and teachers sharing horror stories.

"It's caused a lot of anxiety for me," said Blaire Hirt, 17, a senior at Piper High School in Sunrise. "The morning of the FCAT writing, I threw up."

The Florida School Boards Association is expected to discuss the issue at its June 14 meeting in Tampa.

State Sen. Nan Rich, D-Weston, said she would like to see a task force formed to re-examine how schools are held accountable.

"You don't want to end accountability," she said. "What kind of accountability and what impact it has on children and families are what we need to agree on."

stravis@tribune.com or 561-243-6637 or 954-425-1421

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/education/highered/fl-broward-fcat-resolution-20120530,0,7725230.story