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When the passing rate for students taking the writing FCAT dropped to 30 percent this year, compared to 80 percent last year, the Florida Board of Education addressed the problem with typical aplomb: It changed the grading scale. Like magic, failure turned into success for tens of thousands of students. Of course, they can’t write any better than before, but that’s beside the point. The students passed the FCAT, didn’t they? So their schools’ letter-grade ratings won’t go down, and their self-esteem will remain intact. That’s what’s important, isn’t it? The high initial failure rate was due at least in...

After conceding that poor communication with teachers could have contributed to the unprecedented plunge in Florida students’ writing scores this year, the state Board of Education voted Tuesday to lower the passing mark for the test. Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson defended the decision against critics who said it was a quick fix for bad results on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, or FCAT. He said changing the test’s passing score to a 3 from a 4 (out of 6) “corrected the process.” “The results still stand,” he said. Just 27 percent of fourth-graders statewide earned a 4 or better on...

FCAT scores rise as test gets harder By Christopher O'Donnell Published: Monday, June 6, 2011 at 12:47 p.m. Despite three straight years of improvement, most Florida students still struggle to understand basic science concepts, state test results released Monday show. More than half of Florida students failed the science section of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test — compared with 35 percent who failed math. Part of the struggle may be that the science test, first counted in 2006, is so new. But some educators also say schools do not spend enough time on the subject, despite a series of new...

A long-anticipated conflict between the FCAT and Passover starts on Tuesday, but local public schools are accommodating observant students by offering alternative test times and makeup exams. The Jewish holiday begins at sundown on Monday and ends on April 26. In Palm Beach and Broward counties on Tuesday, fifth-grade students are scheduled to take the first of two days of the science portion of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. Jewish students usually do not miss school throughout Passover, but some may be absent for a couple of days. When the testing schedule was published last year, some parents complained that...

LAND O'LAKES - About 950 Pasco County third-graders - that's 260 more than a year ago - might have to repeat the grade after failing the FCAT reading exam this spring. Things look worst for Cox Elementary in Dade City, where fewer than half of the school's 85 third-graders performed at grade level on either the reading or math sections of the test. Last year, more than 60 percent of the school's third-graders were reading at grade level. Cox is one of nine county schools facing sanctions under the federal No Child Left Behind Act if it does not show...

As Bay area students start their new school years, there's one thing many of them and their parents are already dreading -- the FCAT. "It's not fun and it's hard and I don't like it," said middle school student A.J. Lilly. The standardized test, which is the foundation of Florida Gov. Jeb Bush's education plan, determines everything from whether a student graduates to how much money individual schools will receive. Some say it puts too much pressure on students. "I think I'm not going to pass it or I don't know if I'm going to pass it or not," said...

TALLAHASSEE · Critics of Florida's high-stakes FCAT exam are lashing out at the state for hiring thousands of $10-an-hour temporary workers to score tests that are so critical in determining school grades and student promotions.

Posted on Thu, Aug. 04, 2005 School on Aug. 8? Are they insane? BY DAVE BARRY Here's a multiple-choice test: When should the school year start? A. Sometime around Sept. 1, when most of the United States of America has started school for many decades. B. On Aug. 8 -- also known as ''smack dab in the middle of summer'' -- when the average Florida classroom is roughly the same temperature as a pizza oven. If you answered ''A,'' you are correct. If you answered ''B,'' you are an official of Miami-Dade or Broward public schools. These officials have decided...

A state official said more than 100 schools in the state transferred students who scored poorly on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test to new schools just before standardized testing began this year. Many of those schools were in Polk County, where an unusual number of students were transferred in the 19 days before the testing began, said Jim Warford, kindergarten-to-12th-grade chancellor for the Florida Department of Education. About 70 percent of the Polk students who were moved from the 64 schools scored poorly on the FCAT, Warford said Friday. "Everything about the data from Polk raises our suspicions," he said....

School provides FCAT loophole IN COLLEGE: Suze Barthelemy, 19, left, and Stephania Fourron, 22, are among those students who turned to North Atlantic Regional High after failing the FCAT. DONNA E. NATALE PLANAS/HERALD STAFF Dozens of county students are transferring their high school credits to an out-of-state private school, using a loophole that lets them earn a diploma without passing the state's graduation test. BY MATTHEW I. PINZUR mpinzur@herald.com Two years after arriving from Port-au-Prince, Edison High student Stephania Fourron had learned enough English to pass the math portion of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, but failed the reading exam...

Local Senator Threatens Tourism Boycott Over FCAT Testing POSTED: 11:43 a.m. EDT July 21, 2003 THE GRADES: Florida Public School Grades and FCAT Scores ORLANDO, Fla. -- A local senator is giving Governor Bush an ultimatum to make some changes to the FCAT. Senator Gary Siplin is threatening a tourism boycott and says he has the backing of local tourism leaders. Thirty days, that's how long state Senator Gary Siplin is giving Governor Bush to reconsider his position on the FCAT. We met with the senator and he says if the FCAT is not suspended within that time, he'll lead...

Mike Thomas Don't blame Bush or bias: Just teach kids Published June 3, 2003 ...Black communities destroy black schools. Too many parents don't get involved in their children's education. So the kids don't care. The good teachers burn out trying to get them to care. And so they leave. That attitude goes right up the system. "This ain't a black thing," said Bishop Victor T. Curry, former president of the Miami-Dade NAACP. "This is our children's thing." I'd suggest he use proper grammar, but Ernest Page might accuse me of being culturally biased. ...The people who did not prepare the...

Florida Department of Education Launches Web Site for 12th Graders Online resource provides options for students who did not meet the minimum required score on the Florida Comprehensive Achievement Test (FCAT) TALLAHASSEE — Education Commissioner Jim Horne today announced the launch of: www.12thGradeOptions.org, a new Web site for 12th graders who have not met the minimum required score the Florida Comprehensive Achievement Test (FCAT) and need information about their options. Students who would otherwise be eligible for graduation, except for meeting the minimum required score on the FCAT, can now receive both classroom and online instruction. "This Web site...

Carl Hiaasen Carl Hiaasen was born and raised in South Florida. He joined The Herald in 1976 and worked as a general assignment reporter, magazine writer and award-winning investigative reporter before starting his column in 1985. He is also the author of many novels, including Basket Case, Sick Puppy, Tourist Season and Strip Tease, which was made into a feature film starring Demi Moore and Burt Reynolds. Hiaasen's column appears regularly on the Other Views page. ---------------- Ten questions that should be on FCAT test by CARL HIAASEN The following are 10 timely questions for the next round of FCATs:...

ON EDUCATION A Pupil Held Back, a Heavier Burden By MICHAEL WINERIP ORLANDO, Fla. SORRY I'm late," said Charlie Perez. "I had to get my son from school. He got sick." Mr. Perez paused. "Not really sick. The school called this morning. They said he was vomiting." When Mr. Perez arrived at Arbor Ridge Elementary, he saw that his son, Giancarlo, a third grader, had no fever or any other signs of illness, and the father's heart sank. Mr. Perez understood that the little boy was vomiting from nerves and shame. "He thinks he's a failure," the father said. Since...

María T. Padilla FCAT success is triumph for entire family by Maria T. Padilla May 21, 2003 Evelyn Tavárez couldn't contain herself. Her son, John Fernández, 18, earned a passing score on the math portion of the FCAT, which means he's on his way to graduating from high school in Kissimmee. Not only did Fernández pass the math test, but he did exceptionally well. "It's the highest math score I've ever seen," said teacher Karen Turner. Fernández didn't pass the reading portion, but Turner says she has "no doubt" that Fernández will do so when he retakes the test this...

FCAT Scores Among Blacks, Hispanics Up Considerably POSTED: 7:38 a.m. EDT May 16, 2003 UPDATED: 9:35 a.m. EDT May 16, 2003 MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. -- Statewide results for the FCAT exam show minority students are improving and Gov. Jeb Bush says this is the time to celebrate, not boycott.  SURVEY Would you participate in the FCAT boycott? Yes No Results  |  Disclaimer Bush says results of this year's Florida Comprehensive Achievement Test show "rising student achievement" and the value of holding students and schools accountable. He also says black and Hispanic students are much better readers than they were...

Bush: FCAT scores up in every grade but 10th Thursday, May 15, 2003 • Scores available at Dept. of Education • Understanding FCAT scores TALLAHASSEE (AP) - Florida students at almost every grade level are testing higher in reading and math, according to results of the state's standardized exams released Thursday. In the Palm Beach County School District students performed at the highest level recorded since FCAT tests were administered. Overall, students did marginally better than last year with about 55 percent to 57 percent passing the tests. Gov. Jeb Bush said the results of the Florida Comprehensive Achievement...

Lowering FCAT passing scores will allow 1,000 to graduate (Tallahassee-AP) -- The lowering of the passing score for seniors who took the F-CAT will allow about one-thousand who originally flunked to go ahead and graduate. The F-CAT is given in 10th grade but a student who fails can take the test again five more times. Nearly 14-thousand seniors have not passed the F-CAT, a requirement for grduation. About 4-thousand of those wouldn't graduate even if they did pass the F-CAT because they don't have the grades or haven't taken all the required courses. Seniors have another chance to take...

MIAMI -- The FCAT controversy hit the airwaves this morning with criticism of the statewide assessment test and its primary backer -- Gov. Jeb Bush. Community activist Bishop Victor Curry (pictured) voiced his concerns on his 1490 AM WMBM radio show. "People are hurting," Curry said. "Our children are traumatized by this one test. And that's not fair." Curry also talked about a coalition that is planning to boycott Florida industries like sugar, orange juice, and tourism if Bush does not take action to address what they see as problems with the FCAT.