State Board of Education to Discuss FSA Cut Score Recommendations

The State Board of Education will meet in Orlando next week to discuss and consider the cut scores for the Florida Standards Assessment.

According to the meeting's agenda, the State Board will discuss the recommendations made by Commissioner Pam Stewart in September. Under Stewart's recommendations, nearly half of the state's 10th graders would fail the English Language Arts portion of the exam. 

When a standardized test is given for the first time like the FSA was this year, the Florida Department of Education generally seeks input from educators, school districts and business and community leaders on how to best set achievement levels. 

After gathering input, the State Board of Education then takes the recommendations and establishes a set of standards for the test which will be used moving forward. 

Earlier in September, the department released the long-awaited study of a summerlong validity test which ultimately ruled the FSA made the cut and was an accurate way to measure student achievement. 

The report itself was riddled with suggestions on how to improve content as well as test administration procedures, however, leading to some criticisms of the FSA. The department has since tried to silence criticisms by dispeling “misconceptions” about the validity study.

See the full meeting agenda here.