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Sunday, June 10, 2012

Florida Backtracks on Standardized State Tests - NYTimes.com

Florida Backtracks on Standardized State Tests - NYTimes.com:


Backtracking on Florida Exams Flunked by Many, Even an Educator

SANFORD, Fla. — Bill Vogel, the superintendent of schools in this suburb of Orlando, has always been vigilant about preparing his district for the state tests.
Roberto Gonzalez for The New York Times
Edlexander Rabassa, a high school sophomore in Orlando, Fla., qualified for college credits but failed a reading competency test.

Readers’ Comments

All students take practice tests in math, reading and writing in September and December. Heather Flay’s fourth graders at Crystal Lake Elementary keep folders with their test results so they can chart which scores need improving.
“We have them show their folders to their parents,” Ms. Flay said. “They’ll say, ‘This is what my scores were in third grade, this is where I was in September and this is what I’m shooting for.’ ”
Terri Ganey, an English teacher here at Seminole High,