Worried they could see a repeat of last year's school-grading mess, the State Board of Education on Tuesday asked Commissioner of Education Tony Bennett for help in scrutinizing the FCAT scores used as the basis for awarding the grades.
Bennett agreed to organize a task force next week.
Meeting in Hillborough Community College, board members asked the commissioner to act quickly. Grades are due out in a matter of weeks and rumors abound that FCAT scores again are down, meaning schools will be graded low again.
Schools are currently graded by students performances on the FCAT exam and assigned grades A through F. The grading formula in Florida has grown a lot tougher -- a large factor in why many schools could see a drop in letter grades.
Superintendents from around the state, as well as board members, talked at length at the meeting about the accountability issue for Floridas schools.
The Board of Education heard pleas from Hillsborough Superintendent MaryEllen Elias and Miami-Dade Superintendent Alberto Carvalho, both of whom fear many of their schools grades will plummet with the new formula, even though their students performances improved in certain areas.
In a controversial move, the board last year approved changes to the states grading formula, which included raising the target score on the states reading exam. Writing-cut scores were also lowered after officials found many students failing the exam.
We have other assessments that show kids making gains, said Elias in the meeting. When were seeing it and this test isnt showing it, weve got a problem.
It was Carvalho and Elias in particular who convinced the board to create a task force to review the grading formula. The task force will consist partly of superintendents, and will come back to the board with recommendations on how to proceed with the states grading requirements.
The boards consideration of any changes proposed by the task force would be done over a conference call.
I would ask Tony [Bennett] to put together an advisory task force to take the time to sit down and research, to expound upon, to come back to this board with a recommendation to make sure we are careful, considerate and thoughtful, to make sure we have the right system in place, said Chairman Gary Chartrand.
Another issue discussed at the meeting was accountability and the fact that not many members of the public understand the impact of accountability standards on school grades. Board members and superintendents alike said the state could do a better job at explaining the standards to parents and to the public.
We are very supportive of accountability across the board, but we need to make sure there is an appropriate accountability, not one that isnt understandable, said Elias.
There will be a lot more 'D,' 'F' schools, but your kids are learning more, began Kathleen Shanahan. Thats oxymoronic to some people, but thats our challenge. This is going to be a very complicated message.
Shanahan added that the lowered grades may also pose some issues for Gov. Rick Scott, who is running for re-election in 2014. Education has been a top priority for Scott during his time as governor. If school grades drop, it may send the wrong message to voters who dont understand the exact reason why.
Florida will already be headed toward a more rigorous grading system when the Common Core standards are implemented during the 2014-2015 school year. Common Core will focus on standards in English language arts as well as mathematics, and has already been adopted by 45 other states.
Common Core is going to be tougher, said Shanahan. [There will be] fewer standards, but the contents will be tougher.
Board members noted there are many misconceptions about the Common Core and what the exact standards are.
We have really put Common Core out there, explained Barbara Feingold. We want to make sure what were doing is presented to communities in a forthright way so everyone is aware of what were doing.
Elementary and middle school grades will be released in July. The state boards next meeting is set for September.
Reach Tampa-based reporter Allison Nielsen at allison@sunshinestatenews.com.
