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FCAT proves kindly to Pasco
By KENT FISCHER © St. Petersburg Times, published May 9, 2001
This year, the news couldn't be better. Hudson students posted impressive gains across the board, making it unlikely that it again will be labeled a "D" school. "I'd like to take them all out to lunch tomorrow," Hudson principal Greg Wright said of his students and faculty. The news was similarly good for most Pasco schools Tuesday as the state released the results of this year's Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. The test scores form the backbone of the state's school-accountability program, which rewards good test results. Districtwide, middle and high school students met or beat the average state scores in reading, writing and math. Elementary students posted slightly lower scores than the state average in all three subjects, but administrators said the scores weren't low enough to cause them great concern. The state takes a school's test scores in grades 4, 5, 8 and 10 and boils them down into a school grade, A through F, just like students get on their report cards. Superintendent John Long said it appears that no school in Pasco County will get an F grade, and only two schools might end up with a D. The district can't say for certain because the test scores released Tuesday aren't exactly the same scores used to calculate school grades. The state isn't expected to release the new grades until later this month. Although the state only uses test scores from grades 4, 5, 8 and 10 to rate its schools, all students in grades 3 through 10 took exams this year. The district's composite scores for all grades show that the district did well this year, according to school administrators. Those test results show that Pasco students scored at or above national averages at every grade level in every subject except one: ninth-grade reading. And even that news wasn't too bad. Pasco freshman scored only 3 percentage points below the national average, but 3 percentage points higher than the average Florida ninth-grade score. Long said he's pleased with the district's scores, but repeated his disdain for the state grading program. He said the program puts schools serving lots of poor children at a disadvantage because it doesn't measure the academic gains those students make during the course of a year; it only assesses kids against a state-set test score quota. "I've said all along that I don't think there's much validity to this accountability system," Long said. "But we've got to play the game, and getting decent scores is a big part of the game." Hudson's reading scores increased 14 points, from a 290 to 304. It's math scores jumped 16, from 306 to 322. The tests are graded on a scale of 100 to 500. But Wright said he is most proud of the gains made on the writing exam. Scores on that test range from 1 to 6, and Hudson averaged a 3.8. Its score of 3.2 last year was worst in the district. As hard as the D grade was to swallow, Wright said it forced his school to reconsider how it taught writing and how it prepares students for the all-important state exams. "It caused us to be reflective and to change how we did business," he said. "I think we're better off for it." Zephyrhills High, the district's other D-rated school last year, also posted big gains in its scores. Zephyrhills jumped 23 points in reading and 21 points in math. Tuesday's biggest scare went to Cox Elementary, which saw its reading scores drop 50 points from 293 to 243. Cox was tagged with a D in 1999, but pushed its reading scores up 45 points the next year to earn a C grade. But the scores this year fell back to close to its 1999 level. Principal Leila Mizer said this year's group of fourth-graders wasn't as prepared as the kids who took the test last year. - Kent Fischer covers education. He can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6241 or (800) 333-7505, ext. 6241.
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