News

FCAT

May brings FCAT tears for some seniors

At least 79 Pasco high school students must brace themselves for the bad news that they will not graduate with their class.

By REBECCA CATALANELLO
Published May 4, 2005

---

It's May. The month of caps and gowns, wishes for the future, and parents who cry to see their babies walk across a stage and into a new phase of their lives.

But in an age of standardized testing, May doesn't come without some heartache.

At least 79 Pasco County high school seniors might not be graduating with their classmates May 20 because, after as many as six tries, they didn't pass at least one portion of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test: reading, math or both. (Figures for Mitchell High were not available on Tuesday.)

Some of those 79 students still are hoping that their scores on another test - the GED or a college entrance exam - might allow them to graduate without jumping over the FCAT hurdle, as state exemptions allow.

But when things are down to the wire like this, sometimes that hope flickers only faintly.

"These kids worked hard," said Denise Belasic, mother of a Zephyrhills High School senior who didn't pass the test.

Belasic broke down in tears Tuesday as she pleaded for the School Board to grant leniency to the six affected Zephyrhills students. Though Belasic's daughter qualified for exemptions that will allow her to graduate despite a low score on the FCAT reading test, Belasic said she wanted to be a voice for the other students.

Zephyrhills was investigated last fall for test tampering involving 15 FCAT reading tests. No one was ever reprimanded in the case and the scores for those 15 tests were thrown out, leaving the affected students with one less chance to pass the test than others in the county.

"An injustice, in my opinion, has been done here," School Board member Jean Larkin Weightman responded. "My heart goes out to them. They were denied an opportunity."

But School Board members offered no other remedy for the Zephyrhills students than those that already exist under state rules.

Pasco County is one of a handful of Florida districts that bar students from participating in graduation ceremonies unless they've passed the FCAT or met all the requirements for graduation in some other way. The no-walk policy alone has been a stinger for more than a few would-be graduates.

"I always hated this time of year," said Hudson High principal Angie Stone. As an assistant principal at Zephyrhills High until last summer, Stone used to be the one who had to break the FCAT news to kids who were on the fence: "I needed a lot of Kleenex with me."

This year, six of Hudson's 311 seniors are faced with the possibility they won't graduate because of the FCAT, she said.

Students of the class of 2003 were the first to bump their heads against the FCAT bar. That year, 6 percent failed the test districtwide - almost 200 students back then. But this year, preliminary figures show only about 3 percent of the seniors will cite failure to pass the FCAT as the only thing standing in the way between them and graduation.

Ray Bonti, principal of Land O'Lakes High School, said that even after a few years of breaking news of failing FCAT scores to prospective graduates, it hasn't gotten any easier.

Eight of 452 Land O'Lakes seniors are expecting their performance on the FCAT to be the reason they don't graduate. The school has done, he thinks, a better job of preparing students for the FCAT and for the consequences of a low FCAT score.

But the news of failure is painful - however it is delivered.

"I think some of the shock factor is gone," Stone said. "They know it's coming."

Rebecca Catalanello covers education in Pasco County. She can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6241 or toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6241. Her e-mail address is rcatalanello@sptimes.com

SENIORS IN FCAT JEOPARDY

Here's a look at the number of Pasco County seniors who, as of Tuesday, might not be able to graduate solely because they failed the FCAT. Some of these students could be eligible to graduate if they make adequate scores on the GED, SAT or ACT:

Students Senior class size percent affected

Gulf 15 284 5.3 Hudson 6 311 1.9 Land O'Lakes 8 452 1.8 Pasco* 9 231 3.9 Ridgewood 9 370 2.4 River Ridge 6 370 1.6 Wesley Chapel 20 340 5.9 Zephyrhills 6 251 2.4 Mitchell Not available

This number accounts for students who made adequate scores on the ACT or SAT.

Source: Pasco County schools

[Last modified May 4, 2005, 00:58:13]