The Florida Flip-Flop Undermines Test Credibility
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We are relying on the results of standardized tests for ever more consequential decisions. Students are promoted or held back, teachers are hired or fired, public schools are closed, and soon our schools of education will rated, ranked and have their funding depend on the scores of the students taught by their graduates. Since the tests have so much riding on them, they are getting greater scrutiny than ever - and their limitations are beginning to show.
In Florida, the State Board of Education acted hastily last month to "lower the bar" on the FCAT, which tests writing proficiency in grades 4, 8 and 10. The Board decided that a score of 3 on a scale of 1 to 6 would be
We are relying on the results of standardized tests for ever more consequential decisions. Students are promoted or held back, teachers are hired or fired, public schools are closed, and soon our schools of education will rated, ranked and have their funding depend on the scores of the students taught by their graduates. Since the tests have so much riding on them, they are getting greater scrutiny than ever - and their limitations are beginning to show.
In Florida, the State Board of Education acted hastily last month to "lower the bar" on the FCAT, which tests writing proficiency in grades 4, 8 and 10. The Board decided that a score of 3 on a scale of 1 to 6 would be