Letter: Florida students victims of invalid FCAT

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Did your 8th- and 10th-grade FCAT reading grades drop in 2009?

The state, the schools and the districts knew the 2009 Florida 8th- and 10th-grade reading FCAT tests were missing some field questions. They all knew this, but allowed our children to take the test anyway.

Because 8th- and 10th-grade reading tests have a separate test booklet and answer sheet, this couuld have created problems, i.e., test question 5 missing in booklet but still on answer sheet. Student moves to question 6 and bubbles in answer 5, thus making them off all the way down the answer sheet.

Florida Statutes require all students who score Level I & II to be placed in remedial reading the following year. At the middle- and high-school level, this can cause the child to lose their elective. Has your child fallen victim to this? If so, it is imperative you file an appeal with your school district prior to Aug. 28, requesting a manual re-score of the test. If you miss the date, you may have no recourse.

Our children in 8th and 10th grades were given an invalid test to begin with and are now being punished for not passing at grade level. If the creators of the test cannot get it right, how are our children supposed to be able to pass the test?

Our children continue to be “used” so our schools can receive money from invalid tests. This test affected all the 8th- and 10th-graders throughout the state, not just our county.

Invalidate the 2009 reading FCAT for 8th and 10th grade. Better yet, invalidate it for all.

Contact the St. Lucie County School Board at 772-429-3600.

Linda Jeffrey

Port St. Lucie

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Read the letter to the editor and post a comment on tcpalm.com.
http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2009/aug/15/let...f-invalid-fcat/