The state is investigating results at Zephyrhills High. Until the review ends, 15 of the school's students won't know whether they passed or need remedial classes.
By STEPHEN HEGARTY
Published August 17, 2004
ZEPHYRHILLS - Fifteen students at Zephyrhills High School have yet to learn whether they passed their summer retake of the FCAT because the state has held the tests to investigate possible "irregularities."
It's unclear what those irregularities might be. But Zephyrhills assistant principal Mike Macchiarola said the school showed such dramatic improvement the state wanted to review the results.
"The good news is the majority of the group passed," Macchiarola said. "But the state wants to make sure there are no problems."
Zephyrhills is one of 15 schools statewide whose test results from the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test summer retake session are being investigated, according to Department of Education spokeswoman Frances Marine. Those investigations occur with a small number of schools every time the test is given, Marine said.
Whatever the cause of the investigation, the bottom line is that the Zephyrhills High students didn't get their results in late July when others did. The students have had to enroll in classes and start the school year not knowing whether they need to take remedial classes to help them pass the FCAT. Students must pass the test to get a standard diploma.
Macchiarola said spaces were being kept open in remedial classes in case some of the 15 students still need to enroll in the class and retake the FCAT.
"I know this is inconvenient for the kids and their parents," Macchiarola said. "They need to know. The kids need to pass this test."
Heather Belasic, 17, is one of those students. The Zephyrhills High senior has passed the math section of the FCAT, but not the reading portion. This summer, she took the reading test for the fourth time.
Heather learned on Thursday that she finally got a passing score on the reading. But those results are unofficial until the state releases the results. So Heather and her classmates remain in limbo.
"It's amazing that we can't find out," said Heather's mother, Denise Belasic. "This test is so important. These kids need to pass the test."
Denise Belasic has been calling testing officials with the school district and the state, trying to find out what's going on. She's perturbed that the state might question the results simply because the students did so well.
"These kids have been taking intensive language arts classes," Denise Belasic said. "You would expect they're going to show improvement."
Students have several chances to pass the test. If they fall short on either the math or reading portion when they first take it in the spring of their sophomore year, they can retake it the following fall, then again in the spring. The test over the summer was the fourth chance for this year's seniors to take the test. If they still haven't passed one portion, they can take remedial classes and give it another shot in September.
Because of the high stakes associated with the FCAT - school grades and cash rewards are tied to the results, and both third-grade promotion and high school graduation also are tied to the test - state officials are constantly on the lookout for irregularities. That would include an excessive number of erasures on the answer sheet, or surprisingly impressive test scores by a number of students at a particular school.
"If there's any kind of irregularities, anything that would raise a red flag, we have to look into it," Marine said.
