The passing grade on the 2012 FCATs were lowered so school grades won't be hurt, but many students will still receive poor scores.
The State Board of Education decided at an emergency meeting today that it will lower this year’s FCAT writing exam passing grade so the state’s A-to-F grades won’t drop as a result of the lower schools.
Students who earned a 3 on the 6-point scale are considered a pass, instead of a 4 like previous years.
The 2012 scores from the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test writing exam were significantly lower than last year. The percentage of fourth-graders earning a passing grade of 4 out of 6 dropped from 81 percent to 27 percent; a decrease of 54 percent. There were similar drops for 8th and 10th grade writing exams too.
“I just figured that students, overnight, were not writing that badly,” Commissioner Gerard Robinson said at the meeting.
Something didn’t seem right to him when he saw the scores. He says he questions the grading process, as this year there were two graders whom he says were more rigorous.
He also says there wasn’t “appropriate communication and professional development” from the state board’s side.
The change of pass grade closes most of the large gap between last year’s scores and this year’s.
School grades won’t be hurt, but many students will still receive poor scores on their essays.
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