School district leaders call FSA scores 'flawed'


  • October 13, 2015
  • /   Reggie Dogan
  • /   education

Seven months after the state’s controversial new standardized tests rolled out, preliminary results showed that Santa Rosa School District ranked among the top four counties in every category.

The data from the Florida Department of Education separates state performance in four groups — top, third, second and bottom — and then shows the percentage of students I each school district in each category.

“The release of the math and English and language arts scores paint Santa Rosa in a very positive light,” said Tim Wyrosdick, superintendent of Santa Ross schools. “Santa Rosa, once again, is found at the top of the performance rankings and miles ahead of the state average.”

It’s no surprise that Santa Rosa students performed admirably on the new Florida Standards Assessment. Of the 67 school districts in Florida, Santa’s scores on the old FCAT ranked in the top five.

Education is an integral part of efforts to improve this community’s quality of life.

In cooperation with the University of West Florida Office for Development and Engagement, the Studer Community Institute has created a dashboard of 16 metrics to look at the area’s growth, educational attainment, economic prospects, safety and civic life.

Student achievement as measured by standardized tests is a way to gauge progress and identity areas that need improvement in schools.

But school districts leaders throughout the state found it hard to celebrate academic achievement in the midst of questions about the reliability of the exams and the validity of test scores.

The problems surrounding the Florida Standards Assessment, dubbed FSA, were widespread, including statewide computer glitches, a suspected cyberattack and complaints that the education department had no way for comparing the more difficult exam to those in past years.

Poverty matters

For the FSA, the scores were broken into only four quartiles — ranking schools and students across the state from top to bottom, with about 25 percent of students falling into each category.

Students in grades three to 10 were tested in English and math, with the high school students taking End-of-Course exams in algebra I and II and geometry.

Hardly surprising, the data highlighted the differences in student performance between Santa Rosa and Escambia counties.

Correlating numbers and studies typically show that test results are related to poverty levels.

The poverty level in Escambia as measured by the number of students who qualify for free or reduced-priced lunch rose to 66.1 percent in 2015, compared to 45 percent in Santa Rosa.

In Santa Rosa County, 33 percent of third-to-10th graders in the English exam scored in the top quartile, while 18 percent in Escambia County scored in the top category.

Third to eighth graders in Santa Rosa scored 36 percent in math, 12 percentage points higher than the state average. In Escambia, that group of studebts scored 19 percent.

Malcolm Thomas, superintendent of Escambia schools, said he believes in accountability, but he wants standards that are realistic and achievable by students.

“Otherwise, we create a system that identifies pockets of dysfunction in homes and in poverty,” Thomas said. “You can take these state scores and instead of breaking them out by district, you could rank the districts by their poverty rate, because I bet you you’re going see a strong correlation.”

For example, 71 percent of mostly affluent students at Pensacola Beach Charter School scored better than their peers statewide on the English exams. By contrast, only 9 percent of students at C.A. Weis Elementary School, in one of Pensacola’s poorest neighborhoods, scored better than statewide scores.

Hard to measure results

One thing the data did not show is whether students passed or failed the FSA because no statewide “cut score” has been set. They merely showed how students in each district performed compared to other students across the state.

State education Commissioner Pam Stewart last month released “cut score” recommendations, and the lawmakers have three months to vote on them.

Individual student scores will be sent home to parents by Oct. 21. They will show how each student’s percentile on each FSA exam they took.

Parents can get an idea of how well their children performed compared to others statewide. But the reports won’t show if the student passed because the state hasn’t set benchmarks for passing scores.

The lack of a way to gauge student progress and measure scores compared to the previous test led to more complaints being piled on about the FSA.

The state test already had been beleaguered by statewide technical glitches in March, leading school officials to criticize the accountability and validity of the high-stakes exam.

Even though an independent study last month found the FSA results could still be use for teacher evaluations and school grades, the Florida Association of District Superintendents continued its vocal opposition of the exams.

“The overall purpose of the accountability system should be to improve student performance and inform instruction,” the association said in a released statement. “However, our current accountability system is based on a flawed and incomplete process that ultimately yields flawed and incomplete data upon which high stakes decisions are being based for students, schools and our communities.”

Wyrosdick echoed the sentiments of his colleagues.

“In defense of our students and teachers, we need to continue to push for a suspension of the accountability system and the effect it will have on schools and communities,” Wyrosdick said. “It is a system built on a house of cards."

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