FairTest Calls for Independent Audit of FCAT, Pearson
From the Bradenton Times:
BRADENTON – Based on a history of grading errors, the National Center for Fair & Open Testing has called for an independent audit and investigation of Pearson, the company that designed and graded the state’s 2012 FCAT exams. “Pearson has a troubling history of testing errors, the worst in an unregulated, irresponsible industry,” said FairTest Public Education Director Bob Schaeffer, a Southwest Florida resident.
“Trying to ‘fix’ this year’s writing test ‘crisis’ by changing the score level deemed acceptable, as the state board of education has proposed, ignores the fundamental problems with the FCAT and its contractor,“ Schaeffer continued. “It is clear that Florida school grades reflect profoundly political decisions based on ever-changing standards. They are not consistent, meaningful measures of student learning and teaching quality.”
Yesterday, FairTest released a chronology of more than a dozen questionable aspects of Pearson test design, administration and scoring over the past decade. Two years ago, Florida fined the company $15 million for late delivery of scores, the accuracy of which were later questioned.