Posted on 08/07/2006 2:49:32 PM PDT by devane617
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 Lilly. "I just don't like it. I don't like surprises."
However, Lilly's mom, Mendi Soto, supports the test.
"I think all kids are opposed to testing, but I think honestly it's a good idea and it lets us know all year where they're needing help," said Soto.
Not every parent agrees, though.
"I think it should be eliminated," said Lora Lynne Ball. "Because I think they compare different children against each other."
In our Bay News 9 viewers poll, we asked the question, "Would you support or oppose having Florida's next governor eliminate the FCAT tests from public schools?
It was a close margin, but more people opposed eliminating the FCAT than supported the elimination. PMR Inc. of Washington, D.C., conducted the poll, in which likely voters from the seven Bay area counties we cover were surveyed. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percent.
Michelle Dennard, the president of the Pinellas Classroom Teacher's Association, provided an educator's perspective about the FCAT.
"The issue with the FCAT, I believe, is not so much the test but how it is used," said Dennard.
Dennard doesn't think students should be held back or not allowed to graduate because of the testing, and that it shouldn't influence funding for schools.
"I would urge the new governor of Florida to take the punitive measures associated with the FCAT away," said Dennard.
Results from the FCAT are compiled every year to generate a rank for each public school under Bush's A+ Plan. Schools receive a grade from A to F, and the higher a public school scores, the more funding it receives.
boo-friggin-hoo.
I find it humorous that teachers have been testing and grading and failing students for decades but when a test is implemented that will grade how well the teachers and schools have been doing their job they don't like it.
Waaaaaaah!!!
I learned early on that, if you
Standardized tests were just a good excuse to get out of class for several hours...
ping
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