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School marks rely on kid count
By STEPHEN HEGARTY © St. Petersburg Times, published February 3, 2001
Education Commissioner Charlie Crist released a list of schools that would have had a different A-through-F grade if the state had not changed the way it calculated the 1999-2000 grades. That was the first time the state did not include scores of mobile students who enter school just before test time. What effect did that small change have? For 31 schools around the state, such as Northwest Elementary in St. Petersburg, it meant an A grade rather than a C. For another 29 schools, such as Mintz Elementary in Brandon, it meant the difference between the B they would have received and the A they did. All told, 131 schools around the state would have received a different grade if the state had not made the change. That's about 5.4 percent of all the school grades statewide. (The state earlier reported that 146 grades would have been different, but that didn't take grade appeals into account.) Not surprisingly, most of the grades would have been lower. Educators had varying reactions. Some say it undermines confidence in an accountability system when slight tinkering leads to different results. Others say the change makes the grades more meaningful. "Each year, there's something different about it; it's like a moving target," said Fay Durant, principal at Plant City's Lincoln Elementary, a magnet school. "I'm glad the state recognizes that mobility is such a big issue," said Karen Moseley, principal at Northwest Elementary School in St. Petersburg. Moseley said she and her staff simply try not to put too much stock in the state's grades -- arguably a tough act for a principal at an A-rated school. "All this does is prove what we've been saying all along: We shouldn't be held responsible for the kids we don't have for very long," said John Long, superintendent of Pasco County schools. One Pasco school, West Zephyrhills Elementary, got an A grade this year, and would have gotten a C -- the same as last year -- if mobile student scores had been included. Rather than casting doubt on this year's A grade, Long said the recalculation suggests to him that West Zephyrhills has been doing excellent work all along with the children it has, even last year when it got a C. Some of the results from the list are surprising. For instance, Palm Harbor University High School is widely considered a high-performing school, and it earned an A grade this year. Had the mobile student scores been factored in, Palm Harbor would have gotten a C grade. At some schools, mobile students would have provided a boost. Twenty-two schools statewide would have gotten higher grades if mobile students' scores had been included. In fact, three schools would have jumped two grades. "I guess it depends on who the mobile kids are," said Durant at Lincoln Elementary, where the grade would have been higher had the mobile student scores counted. Lincoln got a B this year, falling just short of an A. If the mobile student scores had been counted, they would have nudged the school into A territory. That goes against the theory that mobile students drag test scores down. But Lincoln's students are a little different. Because it is a magnet school, Lincoln students apply to attend, so their mobile students are children whose parents were motivated enough to apply and get them on a waiting list. Another Tampa Bay area school that would have benefited from the inclusion of mobile student scores is Tinker Elementary at MacDill Air Force Base. Again, at that school, mobility doesn't fit the picture of a migrant child or a child from a family that constantly is on the move. The state's definition of mobility for accountability purposes is very specific. Students are considered mobile -- and their scores are not counted with their school's scores -- if they are not present during a student count in October but arrive at the school in time to take the standardized Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, or FCAT, in February. Theoretically, that means the students would have attended class at the school for four months or less. Education Commissioner Crist said that the change in the calculation of school grades was done at the request of educators. Though it was done under former Commissioner Tom Gallagher, Crist said he supports the move because it makes sense. "It's a matter of fundamental fairness," Crist said. "Schools ought to be held accountable, but in a fair way."
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From the Times state desk
From the state wire
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