Testing puts squeeze on school space

Classes and students are reshuffled to provide enough classrooms for students taking the exams. For some, it's a time for basketball.

By JEFFREY S. SOLOCHEK, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published March 6, 2003

BROOKSVILLE -- Natalie Cordero offers silent thanks each time she passes the signs plastered around Central High School urging students to "maul the FCAT."

Cordero, 17, passed the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test two years ago. It was, the senior admits, "really hard."

On Wednesday morning, it was not her concern. The same held true for close to 500 other Central students who had made the grade already.

But accommodating them posed a potential problem for school administrators.

Central High, principal Dennis McGeehan noted, has almost 1,900 students but is designed for 1,250. Many classrooms, such as computer labs, are not conducive to testing, he added.

By the time the test-takers are assigned to available classrooms, and teachers are placed as proctors, McGeehan said, the school just does not have the ability to offer regular classes while administering the FCAT.

"This is pretty hectic for us," he said.

To keep the time meaningful, the administration organized activities and lessons in the few places where they could handle large groups of students with just a few teachers.

Students could study quietly in the cafeteria, participate in basketball and other games in the gym, or attend presentations in the auditorium. On Tuesday, speakers gave advice on how to buy a car, use a credit card and other aspects of personal finance.

An Army sergeant who fought in Afghanistan gave a slide presentation on Wednesday, followed by a question and answer session with area military recruiters.

Assistant principal Rick Markford put together the programs. He started with the idea of providing career information, but saw as the speakers committed that some themes had arisen.

The talks didn't interest everyone, Markford acknowledged.

"That's going to be expected to a certain extent," he said. "You can present them all the information you can, but if they don't want to absorb it, that's their choice."

But Markford added that he thought the presentations would be useful to older teenagers as they leave high school.

Anthony Wright, a 16-year-old junior, went to the study hall Tuesday and listened to the military speakers Wednesday morning. In the afternoon, he played in the four-on-four basketball tournament.

He recognized the school's need to find alternatives for the students who did not need to take the FCAT. But none of the choices was his true preference.

"I'd rather be in a classroom," Wright said.

Senior Teresa Brown, 17, pored over a four-page speech on African-Americans in sports and the breaking of the Jim Crow laws while an Army recruiter spoke. She had to memorize her speech for a scholarship contest later in the week.

Time away from class, though not her first choice, gave Brown some welcome time to prepare.

She said she appreciated the administration's effort to provide alternatives, and called the Afghanistan slide show "cool."

"It interrupts a lot of things," Brown said about the FCAT forcing classes to cease. "But you're either going to sleep or do something constructive with your time."

Not every school faces the same situation.

Hernando High School, for one, has much less cramped conditions than Central. It doesn't have to change its schedule to cope with testing needs, counselor and testing coordinator Chuck Bumpus said.

Ninth- and 10th-grade teachers monitor the test, he said, and there's no jockeying for rooms.

"I keep the juniors and seniors in classes," Bumpus said. "Education continues at Hernando High School."

McGeehan said he expected Central to have to continue its effort next year, even after Nature Coast Technical High School opens and alleviates some of the crowding. Central still will have about 1,700 students, he said, noting: "That's still pretty crowded."

"As long as we continue to test like this, this is going to be a situation we're going to have to contend with," McGeehan said.

The FCAT continues next week.

-- Jeffrey S. Solochek covers education in Hernando County and can be reached at 754-6115. Send e-mail to solochek@sptimes.com .

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