More Complaints Out About Florida FCAT Testing
By: Stephen Crews
Updated: July 9, 2012
It has been a huge debate for years; does Florida put to much emphasis
on the FCAT? Friday, Governor Rick Scott said he has received more
parent complaints this year about testing in schools than in the past.
Governor Scott says he has been talking with state education officials and school superintendents and teachers about making changes while still having reliable measurement systems.
"FCAT is kind of a bad word in our household," said parent Stacey Rising.
Many people we spoke to Saturday say the FCAT is continuously getting harder to pass.
"They continue to set the bar higher and higher and it's not really achieving what they should."
"This year I found myself stopping at every single question that was being asked and we we're timed this year and most people couldn't get it done," said student Katlyn Durham.
Some say students face added pressure from teachers to pass the FCAT. And the stress shows in their test scores.
"All year the teachers just stress you out like the FCAT is so bad and then you get it into your head," said student Brady Rising.
"It was very pressured the story wasn't interesting and the teachers stress you out because they I guess get evaluated by the scores," said Kendra Wallace, who is concerned about the FCAT.
"My son is going into the 9th grade and because of the FCAT they pushed him through classes he should've failed the first couple of years he was in school, so I really think they should get rid of it," said Julie Waldroup.
Some parents say they agree with testing students but the FCAT is not the way, and Scott should look into other options to evaluate the students.
"If we had a standardized test that was just taken nationally like a Stanford Achievement Test just to give people an idea and maybe at the beginning and at the end to see where they grew," said Stacey Rising.
Scott also said Florida has job openings that can't be filled because the state doesn't have enough graduates with the needed degrees to fill them.
Governor Scott says he has been talking with state education officials and school superintendents and teachers about making changes while still having reliable measurement systems.
"FCAT is kind of a bad word in our household," said parent Stacey Rising.
Many people we spoke to Saturday say the FCAT is continuously getting harder to pass.
"They continue to set the bar higher and higher and it's not really achieving what they should."
"This year I found myself stopping at every single question that was being asked and we we're timed this year and most people couldn't get it done," said student Katlyn Durham.
Some say students face added pressure from teachers to pass the FCAT. And the stress shows in their test scores.
"All year the teachers just stress you out like the FCAT is so bad and then you get it into your head," said student Brady Rising.
"It was very pressured the story wasn't interesting and the teachers stress you out because they I guess get evaluated by the scores," said Kendra Wallace, who is concerned about the FCAT.
"My son is going into the 9th grade and because of the FCAT they pushed him through classes he should've failed the first couple of years he was in school, so I really think they should get rid of it," said Julie Waldroup.
Some parents say they agree with testing students but the FCAT is not the way, and Scott should look into other options to evaluate the students.
"If we had a standardized test that was just taken nationally like a Stanford Achievement Test just to give people an idea and maybe at the beginning and at the end to see where they grew," said Stacey Rising.
Scott also said Florida has job openings that can't be filled because the state doesn't have enough graduates with the needed degrees to fill them.
