Lowering FCAT passing scores will allow 1,000 to graduate (Test discriminates who can't read/add)

CBS-47 Jacksonville, FL ^ | 5-14-03 | AP

[cgk]

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 the F-CAT next month.

The passing score had been 300. But now the state is allowing seniors to graduate if they got 287 or above in reading. In math, 295 or above is good enough to get a diploma.

 

©2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

[Doe Eyes]

The DEMS don't want anyone decently educated....

Exactly, those Liberals have been planning this all along. It's part of the vast Left Wing Conspiracy.

[cgk]

Here's an HTML link for sample questions:

Sample

[cgk]

10th graders who take this test can use an FCAT calculator!

I never took ANY test allowing me a calculator. "Show Your Work" is forever burned in my brain.

[goodnesswins]

Well....they sure got THEIR DIVERSITY covered....Native American's....green turtles and Aztecs were mentioned in those few sample questions....wonder what the REAL test is like.

[Normal4me]

As a Floridian, one of the reasons schools suck so bad is because of low taxes. Taxes are low to draw businesses and homebuyers to Florida. With a significantly elderly population retiring to Florida on fixed incomes, they see no reason to pay for education programs.

I graduated high school in 1982 before money had to be spent on security, metal detectors, etc.

[cgk]

I've heard nothing good about FL's schools. I can't imagine sending my children to their "learning" institutions.

[cgk]

I love the phrasing of this question's beginning in the math section:

"Earth has four large bodies of water called oceans..."

If you live in Florida and don't know what an ocean is... WOW.

[goodnesswins]

And, you probably graduated before money had to be spent on Diversity training, Federal Requirements, Heather Has Two Mommie's books, etc.....in other words...you probably graduated when they spent MORE time on BASICS.

[SamiGirl]

A large base of dumb people is an advantage to the Democrats. It ensures more votes for them.

Why even bother with a test? Getting 40% of the questions right is and always has been a failing grade. Just eliminate the test, hand them the diplomas and keep them as stupid as possible. This way you increase the ever-growing underclass that always votes for Democrats.

[Normal4me]

LOL. When I took 11th grade english class(1981) I had to do a 'Demonstration' speech. Believe it or not, I did mine on reloading of shotgun shells. I actually took a piece of reloading equipment into the school with gunpowder and live primers and showed the different steps of making a shotgun shell. As I concluded my presentation I dropped the finished shell on to the floor and after picking it up, I noticed the teacher had ducked behind her desk! LOL! This is a true story!

[stylin19a]

um....aren't there 5 oceans ?

[John Beresford Tipton]

Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic..am I missing one?

[Sweet_Sunflower29]

From the test sample page--

Directions: It should take about 30­45 minutes to answer the 15 questions in this book.Read each problem carefully and think about ways to solve the problem before youtry to answer each question.

I have *no* doubt that if there was a missing hyphen between the numbers 30 and 45 on the actual test, somewhere was a moron thinking that he was allowed 50+ hours for those 15 questions.

[supercat]

Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic..am I missing one?

Billy Ocean?

[stylin19a]

When I was a kid Antarctic was also considered an ocean.
Webster's dictionary lists Antarctic under the rod "ocean".
Encyclopedia Brittanica lists Antarctic as an ocean.

[stylin19a]

rod=word

[summer]

Re post #10 -- Just how tough is the FCAT? [Take these sample tests, Grades 3-10, from the FL Dept of Education!]

There continues to be a lot of misinformation out about FCAT, and I have never before heard, nor do I believe, that "40%" as stated by O'Reilly is the passing score. In addition, there is a lot of good news about FL schools and I have posted that good news repeatedly in the past, and as recently as last night on a bunch of threads. Gov Bush deserves a lot of credit for his education reforms, and I hope someday he gets that credit.

[NonValueAdded]

Here are a few related items:

The "lowering" of the score was actually holding the students to the standard in effect when they first took the test. Probably the state caved in the face of threatened lawsuits.

Most Florida school districts moved up the first day of school to early August in order to have "more time to prep for the FCAT." While this may be true, it also raises havoc with "normal" vacation plans, results is a dribble of "first day" students throughout August disrupting the class, places an enormous expense burden on the schools to keep classrooms air conditioned in the heat of August (money that could go to actually educating someone), and finally, is a nice way for teachers and administrators to hit parents (and voters) with a nice little "in your face."

Notice how little you hear questioning how these students got this far without learning real basic stuff. See post #7.

Remember, this is the workforce that will be taking care of you in your golden years.

[summer]

BTW, FYI -- FL Dept of Ed - FCAT Homepage, including: FCAT Myths and Facts, and FCAT Publications

Scroll down for the "FCAT Myths and Facts."

[John Beresford Tipton]

Thanks.