Re: [arn2-strategy] St. Pete editorial: Welcome Challenge to FCAT Monopoly

[Susan Harman <susanharman@igc.org>]

Id worry that the governor may have a contrary opinion about this.
Susan

On Wednesday, January 23, 2008, at 05:31 AM, Martha Foote wrote:

> Does this signify meaningful changes in Florida?
>
> The St. Petersburg Times
> A Times editorial
> January 21, 2008
>
> A Welcome Challenge to FCAT Monopoly
>
> In most any other context, a state education commissioner's 
> willingness to consider new ways to judge school performance would 
> seem routine, even mundane. But in Florida, where a standardized test 
> has been treated for nearly a decade as the only barometer of success, 
> a simple declaration by new state Education Commissioner Eric Smith 
> made news.
>
> "We probably," he said Tuesday, "need to look at a broader array of 
> tools to measure school performance."
>
> His observation is as obvious as it is overdue. Even the company that 
> markets the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test argues the state is 
> using it for purposes well beyond its original design. Schools can be 
> put on probation or even shut down if the scores remain low. Teachers 
> can get or not get bonus pay based on the results. Nine-year-olds can 
> be held back a grade if they fail the reading portion.
>
> High school is a good example of the FCAT's limitations. It tests 
> reading, writing, math and science, which represent only a portion of 
> the curriculum for many students. The grading formula that is supposed 
> to judge a high school's success doesn't even consider the rate of 
> graduation.
>
> Smith is not the first to speak of changes in accountability. Gov. 
> Charlie Crist and Senate Education Chairman Don Gaetz, a former school 
> superintendent, have also spoken of the need to use more than just a 
> test. But his comments are welcome, particularly given the more 
> dogmatic and confrontational approach of his two permanent 
> predecessors.
>
> That stubbornness is partly to blame for the continued resistance to 
> performance pay. Former Commissioner John Winn tried to enact a merit 
> pay plan on his own, forcing districts into contract disputes and 
> fights with their own faculty. The current plan, enacted too hastily 
> by lawmakers last year, may end up with fewer than 10 districts 
> participating.
>
> Smith said he will bring a more patient approach. Rather than point a 
> finger of blame at the districts that refused to participate this 
> year, he argues the state should learn from the districts that do 
> adopt plans. "We need to have conversations led by teachers," he said.
>
> Smith is only six weeks into the job, but his tone is encouraging. The 
> path of conflict has hurt the cause of educational accountability, and 
> the limits are now plain to see. When teachers turn down pay raises 
> because they refuse to be judged by one standardized test, they are 
> sending a powerful signal to the capital. Maybe now someone will 
> listen.
>
>
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