Almost since the day Gov. Jeb Bush made FCAT a synonym for accountability, there has been skepticism about the rush to test — and what the results would presumably mean and how rewards were to be consequently parceled out. The FCATerwauling has only increased with test-result delays and anomalies amid ongoing, inevitable accusations about “teaching to the test.”
Recently, Hillsborough County Schools Superintendent MaryEllen Elia has been notably outspoken on the issue of decreases in learning gains — and what to make of one third of Florida’s elementary schools (more than 300) experiencing a drop in their school grade.
Elia underscores a valid point when she points out that the state should seriously consider recalibrating its process for measuring learning gains. Basically she’s saying let’s be fair, and let’s use some, well, common sense.
As students improve, Elia notes, it necessarily becomes more challenging to keep demonstrating such improvement. This is a critical point because schools where students have attained a high level of proficiency will be, in effect, penalized for not showing learning gains.
Surely, no one anticipated the FCAT as Catch 22. In the name of rewarding schools for improvement, surely no one is saying that going from bad to less bad is so much more rewardable than good staying good. Surely.