Low test scores not a problem
If at first you don’t succeed, lower the bar for success.
That’s the thought process in Florida, where state education officials chose to lower the bar for a passing grade after the state’s students flunked the state’s standardized writing test.
The test is given to students in grades 4, 8 and 10. After having 81 percent of fourth graders score at their grade level last year, this year only 27 percent did, according to media reports. Last year, 83 percent of eighth graders passed; this year, only 38 percent. Tenth grade posted the best score this year, with 38 percent passing, down from 80 percent last year.
So what the heck happened in Florida? How does an entire state see such a dramatic decline in performance over the course of the year?
The answer is simple: The kids are the same, but the test isn’t.
The Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT, if you’re a fan of vaguely feline acronyms) was revamped this year so that students’ writing was graded for — you won’t believe it — grammar, capitalization, spelling and punctuation. Or, as you and I call it, “writing.”
(It’s unclear what the heck Florida was testing on a “writing” test when it didn’t include grammar, capitalization, spelling and punctuation. Moxie? Creativeness? Can-do spirit?)
So, just to be clear, when the test was adjusted to determine if Florida’s kids could write, three-fourths couldn’t. That’s gotta be inspiring to Florida educators.
(Before you ride on your high horse, let me tell you that as a college professor who reads a lot of freshmen writing, I’m not sure Pennsylvania should be throwing any rocks from our glass house.)
Predictably, the scores have caused a wee bit of consternation in the Sunshine State. After all, the FCAT scores are a big part of judging a teacher’s performance and are used to determine if a student gets held back. They also are a factor in determining if a district is making the all-important Adequate Yearly Progress.
Oh, and did I mention that educators and political leaders from around the country have used the Florida testing system as a model? (Whoopsies!)
The excuses poured in: changes were pushed too quickly and that teachers and students weren’t ready, this kind of test wasn’t really an adequate gauge of writing ability, etc., etc., ad infinitum.
So, the state Board of Education met and decided that instead of a score of 4 on the 6-point scale being passing, they’d simply lower it to a 3.
And just like that — problem solved!
Turns out, if you lower your expectations enough, the Florida kids could write after all. Huzzah and congrats all around!
By the by, a 3.5 passing score was considered, but even that would’ve only seen a pass rate of around 50 percent. So that’s why they dropped passing a full stop down. Imagine how many kids would pass if they just dropped it to 1!!
(Hmmm … this line of thinking has potential: the Penguins wouldn’t have been eliminated in six games if we just had their series be a best of 9. Or 11.)
I’ve long considered myself a dues-paying member of the camp who considers standardized testing to judge districts and teachers to be an essentially flawed idea, at best, and an inherently stupid one, at worst.
But if the states are going to lean on these tests — and have real-world consequences based on them — it seems utterly reckless to just change the rules if the outcome isn’t pretty.
Suffice it to say, this will surely add fuel to the idea that standardized testing isn’t the answer for ensuring our kids are learning. Of course, maybe the kids will learn something from this whole mess: if you don’t like the results, cook the books.
‘Cause you know, if at first you don’t succeed …
If you’d rank this column on a 6-point scale, Brandon Szuminsky can be reached at bszuminsky@heraldstandard.com.