The Florida Coalition for Assessment Reform wants parents to be able to see their children's tests while the state appeals a judge's order.
By Associated Press
Published August 12, 2003
TALLAHASSEE - The head of a group opposed to the state's use of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test has asked Gov. Jeb Bush to let parents see their children's tests while a lawsuit over the issue is in the courts.
"We feel strongly that any test used to make life-altering decisions about children should be subject to scrutiny," Gloria Pipkin, president and founder of the Florida Coalition for Assessment Reform, wrote Bush.
But the governor said Monday that the state can't afford to release the tests because it will use them again.
"If you had to every year recast the test and redo the questions rather than rotate them, as is done now, it'd be millions of dollars," Bush said.
But Pipkin argued that parents can see their children's FCATs without violating the security of the test.
And the oversight is an important one, Pipkin said. She pointed to Minnesota, where the company that grades the FCAT wrongly scored thousands of high school exams required for graduation.
NCS Pearson used the wrong answer key on 47,000 tests given in February and April 2000 in Minnesota. About 8,000 students, from eighth-graders to seniors, were told that they failed when they actually had passed. Several dozen missed their graduation ceremonies because of it.
The company later settled the class-action lawsuit stemming from the grading mistake by agreeing to pay up to $7-million.
In Florida, the guardian of a Pinellas County 10th-grader who failed sued to see his test two years ago. Betty Shields of Largo said she wanted to figure out where the student had fallen short so she could help him get ready for the next test.
A state judge ruled in October that parents should be able to see graded FCAT test booklets and answer sheets. The state appealed to the 1st District Court of Appeal, which automatically suspended the effect of the decision. Oral arguments are scheduled for Sept. 18.
The parent of a 9-year-old autistic boy who is being retained in third grade this year because of his FCAT results also has joined Pipkin in seeking the tests. Judy Castillo of Hernando County said she wanted to see her son's test so she could tell whether some of the questions he failed to answer correctly were things he could not do because of his disability.
Students in grades 3-10 take the test, which forms the foundation for grading schools, rewarding them and granting vouchers. It also plays a key role in deciding whether third-graders move to fourth grade and whether seniors graduate.
