FCAT fight? Destin parents question pressure of standardized testing

Destin students have pretty stellar Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test scores, but some parents are joining the ranks of those who criticize the emphasis put on the state required standardized test.

“I personally think too much time is spent on prepping the kids for FCAT. It takes away from class time and stresses kids out. Some children are just not good test takers and I don't think it reflects accurately what they are capable of due to the standardization of it,” said Darien Runnels, a Destin mother of three.

On June 10, The Log ran a letter to the editor from Tallahassee mom Susan Walker, whose third-grade and tenth-grade daughters both failed the reading portion of the FCAT. Both girls, she said, had GPAs of 3.84 and were being retained to take remedial reading classes.

“The state, schools and teachers make such a big deal out of the FCAT that it freaks the students out,” Walker wrote. “Why does the state put so much emphasis on the FCAT?”

The Log took the question to Superintendent Dr. Alexis Tibbetts. She strongly defended the FCAT and its necessity for determining if the curriculum for Okaloosa students is being taught and retained at grade level.

“I personally think — and I’m a parent — for us to have a strong educational system, there has to be an accountability system,” Tibbetts said.

‘Pressure to perform’
First administered in 1998, the FCAT is given each year to Florida students in grades three to eleven to measure their comprehension of core subjects in mathematics, reading, writing and science. Results are recorded over time to “measure achievement of the Sunshine State Standards.”

In Destin, 98 percent of elementary and middle school fifth-graders scored a Level 3 or above in reading, compared to the state average of 71 percent. An Okaloosa County School District press release also said Destin Middle School scored the highest countywide in math.

In spite of high scores, some parents are concerned that the FCAT is given too early in the school year to ensure students are getting all the material they are tested on, or that the normal curriculum comes to a halt to prepare students for the exam.

The writing portion is administered in February each year and the reading, math and science assessments are given in March. These timelines will shift about a month later beginning in the 2010-11 school year. Tibbetts also said an announcement will be made in the coming months about giving a computer-based FCAT in the future.

“My concern has always been the post-FCAT letdown. So much emphasis is placed on the test, which is several months before the end of school, that getting their energy level and interest back up after FCAT is difficult,” said Tina Kaple, mother of sixth and ninth-graders.

Outspoken parent of fifth and sixth-graders, Tara Greene remembers when elementary school was fun for her generation. Now she said children are “under such enormous pressure to perform.”

“The pressure the teachers apply would make an adult uneasy,” Greene said.

She added, however, that “parents do not have a problem with testing our children to see if they are on grade level. It can be a great indicator of a teacher’s ability to teach.”

‘What we don’t want’
While some parents see FCAT as a distraction from what students should be learning in the classroom, Tibbetts disagrees.

“Some people think that what we do is teach the FCAT,” Tibbetts said. “What we do is teach the Sunshine State Standards.”

The standards identify what students in public schools should know or be able to do in all subject areas from math and social studies to physical education and language arts.

“What we don’t want to do is graduate kids from high school that do not have the skills to be career or college ready,” Tibbetts said.

Tibbetts said that elementary, middle and high school students are given remediation in the summer if they fail a portion of the FCAT.

Middle and high school students are tested again with an “FCAT-like” test after remediation and given more intensive coursework the following year if necessary. They are not held back an entire grade level for failing a portion.

She added that parents in this community have a lot of opportunities to get their students help if they are struggling.

When the FCAT was not a deciding factor in a student’s success, Greene said that the learning environment produced the computer age of today, accomplished great medical feats and weapons technology.

Green asked “if this hard-nosed schooling is so important then why isn’t school year round, and why aren’t schools on the top of all funding lists?”

Not all parents are turned off by the FCAT.

“My children have never been extremely stressed over the FCAT. Fortunately, they have not struggled with the tests, and their teachers have done an excellent job of preparing and relaxing them. It is an exciting time for them,” Kaple said.

Teaching for cash
The problem, Greene said, is that the schools need the money attached to the FCAT, so in turn they pressure the children.

In September last year, Senate Education Committee Chairman and former Okaloosa County Superintendent of Schools Don Gaetz helped negotiate an agreement between the House of Representatives and the Senate to provide cash awards to schools that improve or exceed academic standards measured by the FCAT.

“A” schools attended by Destin students received their piece of the $459,608 pie in the amounts of: Destin Elementary School, $74,299; Destin Middle School, $48,617; Fort Walton Beach High School, $159,377; and Niceville High School, $177,315.

The money was to be divided up for teacher bonuses, more learning programs or whatever each school’s advisory council assembled.
Standardized testing and school funding going hand-in-hand hits a nerve with some parents.

“In a nut shell, the test harbors an unhealthy environment in our schools because of the way the test is set up. Testing can be a good thing when given in an appropriate climate, without funding attached and when used to simply evaluate our children’s progress,” Greene said.

Tibbetts holds that the FCAT is a way to ensure students are getting what they need before graduation day.

“The goal is career and college ready skills when they get out of high school,” Tibbetts said.