Florida's writing scores are a disaster

From the Orlando Sentinel, by Leslie Postal

Preliminary results from the 2012 FCAT writing exam are in and, in the words of one local superintendent, they are a “disaster.”

The State Board of Education plans an emergency meeting tomorrow on the issue and will take up a recommendation that seeks to mitigate the damage to school grades. But Central Florida educators are saying that’s a bad idea, arguing the dramatic drop in scores needs a serious study, not a quick fix.

Schools were already braced for grades to drop, given the tougher FCAT scoring system and the new grading formula. But they figured scores on the writing test — viewed as the easiest of the FCAT exams — would remain close to stable, even though the state ramped up the requirements for students’ essays to earn good marks.

But that didn’t happen.

The state released preliminary statewide results this morning. They show:

Percentage of students scoring 4 or above (on 6-level exam)

2011 2012
4th 81% 27%
8th 82% 33%
10th 80% 38%

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_education_edblog/2012/05/fcat-writing-scores-a-disaster-state-board-to-discuss-in-emergency-meeting.html