Post by Moses on Jan 4, 2006 0:52:08 GMT -5
More High School Tests Loom
A Department of Education task force may recommend end-of-course exams for all high school subjects. The exams could replace some FCATs.
By Nikki Waller
Florida high school students may someday have to take end-of-grade tests in history, literature, biology and other key subjects -- possibly in addition to the FCAT.
Members of a state task force on high school reform are suggesting the tests as a way to make sure students are learning what the state says they are supposed to learn.
For instance, state standards now say American history students must cover colonization to the present day, but ''as a practical matter, they're covering colonization to Civil War,'' said Broward School Board member Stephanie Kraft, a state task force member and supporter of the additional tests.
''Nobody's minding the store,'' she said.
New York and Texas already use similar tests, and some Florida school districts have adopted them, too.
''We're looking for something that's going to help students achieve at a higher rate, not looking to multiply the number of tests out there,'' said state education Commissioner John Winn. ``But an end-of-course test is a way to have some consistency in proficiency level.''
But before Florida adopts the tests statewide, it would first need to update the Sunshine State Standards -- which many criticize as too vague -- so teachers would know what to cover before exams.
"Right now, in grades 9-12, standards are largely generic across areas of themes. We're focusing on those we think are most essential and articulating them in more depth," Winn said.
STANDARD DILEMMAS
Like Winn, task force member Margaret Smith, the Volusia County Schools superintendent, stands behind proficiency exams -- but only if the state standards get a thorough and meaningful overhaul.
"We want to make sure students are reaching consistent outcomes. A test is a way to identify core competencies," Smith said.
She believes teachers, tired of teaching to the FCAT, would welcome a more curriculum-based exam.
"If you're teaching the content that you want to measure, that's a good thing," Smith said.
But it could be several years before the tests reach classrooms.
Revamping and adopting standards is proving to be a longer-than-expected process. Last month, the Department of Education announced it will push back the potentially controversial revision of its science standards after overhauls of math and language standards ran into delays.
Even if standards are rewritten, adding the test could be politically difficult, given the frustration teachers and parents already feel toward the FCAT, which consumes learning time.
"We hear that students, parents, teachers are test weary,'' Smith said. ``Just hearing the word test is going to cause some consternation."
More standardized tests are not the answer for improving results in schools, said Gloria Pipkin, president of the Florida Coalition for Assessment Reform, a nonprofit organization critical of the FCAT.
"At the very, very best, the outcome you get is mediocrity," Pipkin said. At worst, she said, statewide end-of-class tests would be "an enormous dumbing down from the top."
The tests would raise another demand on students already under pressure from frequent testing.
"We need to be able to deal with the infinite variations and the needs of children. There is no such thing as a standard child," Pipkin said.
The task force has not yet decided whether students would have to pass end-of-class exams to advance to the next grade or whether students would have to repeat only the course in which they fail an exam.
TIME RUNNING SHORT
The task force, established earlier this year, meets one more time before it presents policy recommendations to state legislators in January.
Speaking after the task force meeting in Orlando last month, Winn said the exams might not make it onto his list of policy recommendations next month because he wants to study the idea further and possibly pilot the exams in some counties.
Task force member Bill Vogel, the Seminole County Schools superintendent, is preparing to pilot an Algebra I proficiency exam in his district. He sees adaptation of end-of-class exams as a stepped process, beginning with individual schools, then districts, then statewide.
Broward's Kraft believes proficiency exams could improve student achievement in subjects such as social studies and history, which are not covered in FCAT exams.
Even if the plan is not adopted statewide, Kraft says she and Broward's Deputy Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, Earlean Smiley, are talking about instituting district-wide proficiency exams.
The Miami-Dade County school district, which is pushing to add more rigor to its high school curriculum, would welcome end-of-course exams if they brought up the level of standards, district spokesman Joseph Garcia said.
"Our view is that we are moving as rapidly as possible to a standard that exceeds FCAT," said Garcia, who is also attending task force meetings on behalf of Superintendent Rudy Crew, an honorary member. "If this is a lever that helps us push in that direction, then it's the kind of thing that we're after."
— Nikki Waller
Miami Herald
2006-01-03
A Department of Education task force may recommend end-of-course exams for all high school subjects. The exams could replace some FCATs.
By Nikki Waller
Florida high school students may someday have to take end-of-grade tests in history, literature, biology and other key subjects -- possibly in addition to the FCAT.
Members of a state task force on high school reform are suggesting the tests as a way to make sure students are learning what the state says they are supposed to learn.
For instance, state standards now say American history students must cover colonization to the present day, but ''as a practical matter, they're covering colonization to Civil War,'' said Broward School Board member Stephanie Kraft, a state task force member and supporter of the additional tests.
''Nobody's minding the store,'' she said.
New York and Texas already use similar tests, and some Florida school districts have adopted them, too.
''We're looking for something that's going to help students achieve at a higher rate, not looking to multiply the number of tests out there,'' said state education Commissioner John Winn. ``But an end-of-course test is a way to have some consistency in proficiency level.''
But before Florida adopts the tests statewide, it would first need to update the Sunshine State Standards -- which many criticize as too vague -- so teachers would know what to cover before exams.
"Right now, in grades 9-12, standards are largely generic across areas of themes. We're focusing on those we think are most essential and articulating them in more depth," Winn said.
STANDARD DILEMMAS
Like Winn, task force member Margaret Smith, the Volusia County Schools superintendent, stands behind proficiency exams -- but only if the state standards get a thorough and meaningful overhaul.
"We want to make sure students are reaching consistent outcomes. A test is a way to identify core competencies," Smith said.
She believes teachers, tired of teaching to the FCAT, would welcome a more curriculum-based exam.
"If you're teaching the content that you want to measure, that's a good thing," Smith said.
But it could be several years before the tests reach classrooms.
Revamping and adopting standards is proving to be a longer-than-expected process. Last month, the Department of Education announced it will push back the potentially controversial revision of its science standards after overhauls of math and language standards ran into delays.
Even if standards are rewritten, adding the test could be politically difficult, given the frustration teachers and parents already feel toward the FCAT, which consumes learning time.
"We hear that students, parents, teachers are test weary,'' Smith said. ``Just hearing the word test is going to cause some consternation."
More standardized tests are not the answer for improving results in schools, said Gloria Pipkin, president of the Florida Coalition for Assessment Reform, a nonprofit organization critical of the FCAT.
"At the very, very best, the outcome you get is mediocrity," Pipkin said. At worst, she said, statewide end-of-class tests would be "an enormous dumbing down from the top."
The tests would raise another demand on students already under pressure from frequent testing.
"We need to be able to deal with the infinite variations and the needs of children. There is no such thing as a standard child," Pipkin said.
The task force has not yet decided whether students would have to pass end-of-class exams to advance to the next grade or whether students would have to repeat only the course in which they fail an exam.
TIME RUNNING SHORT
The task force, established earlier this year, meets one more time before it presents policy recommendations to state legislators in January.
Speaking after the task force meeting in Orlando last month, Winn said the exams might not make it onto his list of policy recommendations next month because he wants to study the idea further and possibly pilot the exams in some counties.
Task force member Bill Vogel, the Seminole County Schools superintendent, is preparing to pilot an Algebra I proficiency exam in his district. He sees adaptation of end-of-class exams as a stepped process, beginning with individual schools, then districts, then statewide.
Broward's Kraft believes proficiency exams could improve student achievement in subjects such as social studies and history, which are not covered in FCAT exams.
Even if the plan is not adopted statewide, Kraft says she and Broward's Deputy Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, Earlean Smiley, are talking about instituting district-wide proficiency exams.
The Miami-Dade County school district, which is pushing to add more rigor to its high school curriculum, would welcome end-of-course exams if they brought up the level of standards, district spokesman Joseph Garcia said.
"Our view is that we are moving as rapidly as possible to a standard that exceeds FCAT," said Garcia, who is also attending task force meetings on behalf of Superintendent Rudy Crew, an honorary member. "If this is a lever that helps us push in that direction, then it's the kind of thing that we're after."
— Nikki Waller
Miami Herald
2006-01-03