Parents sign petition against use of FCAT
The petition, gaining traction in parts of Florida and around the country, urges education administrators to rely less on standardized tests and use other measures to evaluate students, schools and teachers.
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BY LAURA ISENSEE
LISENSEE@MIAMIHERALD.COM
For years, students and teachers have dreaded the FCAT, Florida’s standardized exam.
Parents like Dalia Blumstein of Miami Beach see their children worried and anxious because so much rides on their success or failure on the exam. Blumstein said the testing dictates her children’s schedules in school and believes it’s unfair when children with high passing scores are singled out for rewards.
Fed up, Blumstein recently signed a petition calling for less reliance on such exams.
The Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test affects a school’s state-issued letter grade, student graduation and, starting this year, teacher evaluations and ultimately, their pay.
The petition is gaining traction in parts of Florida and around the country, in particular Texas. It urges education administrators to rely less on standardized tests and use other measures to evaluate students, schools and teachers.
“We need to all get on the bandwagon. They’re not learning as much as they could. They’re learning for