Students in Tim Larick’s math class use smart boards to answer questions at Bellview Middle School. Larick is preparing his class for the Florida Standards Assessment, the new state standardized test that replaces the FCAT in April. The new test is expected to be more rigorous, slightly longer and mostly online. Photo credit: Michael Spooneybarger

Florida’s Board of Education is pushing to set a higher bar for performance on the state’s new standardized test by boosting how well students have to do on the exam to be considered “proficient.”

But Escambia schools superintendent Malcolm Thomas said it is unfair to students and teachers to change the process based on a test that has not been completely validated.

“There is a process that we have always followed with these test scores, and I believe we should follow that process,” Thomas said. “The comments they were making at the state board meeting were ill-conceived.”

The state now is using the Florida Standards Assessment, an offshoot in its second year of the Common Core national standards. It is working to determine new proficiency levels, and test results for last year are still under review at the state level.

In cooperation with the University of West Florida Office for Economic Development an Engagement, the Studer Institute has devised 16 metrics to measure the economic, educational and social well-being in the Pensacola metro area. Improving student achievement and educational attainment is critical to improving the community’s quality of life.

While Florida has often been seen as model for school reform, some groups have taken aim at how the state’s standards on test scores compare to national exams including the National Assessment of Education Progress.

In a report released last year and based on 2011 data, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation gave the state a “C” in what the group called “truth in advertising.”

A more recent report by Achieve, a national nonpartisan group that calls for higher standards, found that there was a 16- to 20-point gap between how many Florida students were found proficient on the national tests in 2013 and the FCAT, the state’s former standardized that year.

Critics of state assessments assert that obsession with accountability has done a disservice to the education system by telling some children that they are failures. As a consequence, many third-graders are not promoted to fourth grade if they fail the state test. There is no diploma for high school students who fail.

Those calling for testing reform decry the idea of setting Florida's kids up for failure with the use of made up score levels on a test of questionable reliability.

Santa Rosa schools Assistant Superintendent Bill Emerson said he’s concerned about the idea of setting standards, then raising them once the goal has been reached.

“I’m all for rigorous standards, and we want standards that measure us appropriately against other states in the country,” Emerson said. "The thing is, once we get some results, we’ll know where we might fall short and how we stand. Until that point it’s hard to comment on where the cut scores should be.”

The cut scores are the latest controversy to emerge over the FSA, which was dogged by a botched rollout earlier this year.

Technical problems, including a cyberattack, caused widespread delays on an online portion of the test in March.

The Alpine Study, an independent report commissioned by the Legislature recently said the test was valid for use to evaluate teachers and school grades, but cautioned against weighing it too heavily in making decisions about whether students can graduate or be promoted from grade to grade.

Thomas doesn’t believe the FSA has meet the standards expected for a rigorous statewide test.

That aside, Thomas said the National Assessment of Education Process is not aligned with Florida test standards.

“Why would you take a test that does not measure the items that we’re trying to measure and try to make your state test mimic the other items?” Thomas said. “That’s like trying to make an apple turn into an orange.”

The Florida News Service contributed to this report.