State: 46,000 must retake FCAT test

TALLAHASSEE -- More than 46,000 high school students will have to retake the state graduation test because they failed to meet the new minimum scores established Tuesday by Florida's governor and Cabinet.

The new scores required to pass the tests will result in an overall 75 percent passing rate in math and a 68 percent passing rate in reading for last year's high school sophomores. Overall, about one of every three students who are now beginning their junior years will have to retake at least one of the tests beginning in October.

Most students who took the FCAT last March as 10th-graders can peek at their reading and math scores now to see if they have to retake one or both of the tests to get a diploma. But those who failed to hit the new minimum scores will be officially notified in the next few weeks. They will have five more chances to retake the test and pass it before their scheduled graduation, and studies show the failure rate drops as the number of retakes rises.

However, a quick warning: The minimum score will be raised in February. If students don't pass the test during the retake in October, it will get even harder.

Bush and the Cabinet members discovered Tuesday just how tough it is to balance rigor with reasonableness when they set the passing score for the state's graduation test. The governor and Insurance Commissioner Tom Gallagher, who used to be Florida's education commissioner, engaged in a testy exchange about the proper cut-off point.

Gallagher said the minimum scores are embarrassingly low. He was particularly troubled by the fact that the reading score was just one point above numerical scores the state has categorized as "little success" academically.

"Let's put this into perspective: This is a 10th-grade test, and they have six chances to pass it," Gallagher said. "You go one point above what's considered unacceptable and you graduate from high school? That's what I call unacceptable."

Gallagher was outnumbered, as Bush and Education Commissioner Charlie Crist argued in favor of a gradual raising of standards.

Bush, who has a reputation for aggressively demanding more out of students, acknowledged that he was in the unusual position of being the voice of moderation.

"This is the strangest position for me to be in," Bush said.

"Well, I sure hope you feel uncomfortable," Gallagher shot back.

"I do feel uncomfortable," Bush replied.

Afterward, the governor clarified his position.

"Normally, I'm the one advocating raising the bar," he said. "But this is a big deal to get this right."

Standards are being raised gradually, Bush said, so that students are challenged but can reach the goal.

The vote on the minimum test scores was 6-1, with Gallagher casting the only negative vote.

The new standards will have an immediate impact on more than 46,000 students statewide. Of the 144,000 students who took the test in March as 10th-graders, roughly 36,000 failed the math section, and 46,000 failed reading. It is likely that many students failed both sections, but education officials couldn't say Tuesday how many came up short on both math and reading.

Based solely on scores in the reading section, which has the highest failure rate, Pinellas County high schools will see failure rates that range from a low of 6 percent (at Palm Harbor University High) to a high of 40 percent (at Dixie Hollins High.) In Hillsborough County, failure rates range from 10 percent at Plant High to 45 percent at Jefferson High.

In Pasco County, failure rates will range from 20 percent at Land O'Lakes High to 36 percent at Gulf High. In Citrus County, failure rates will range from 22 percent at Citrus High to 25 percent at Crystal River High. In Hernando County, failure rates will range from 25 percent at Central High to 29 percent at Hernando High.

Educators say they have their work cut out for them.

The previous graduation test -- the High School Competency Test -- was designed as a minimum skills test, so when students failed part of it, they took classes to review basic skills. The new graduation test, the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, is much more demanding.

"If they don't pass the FCAT the first time, it will be a lot more difficult to remediate," said Catherine Fleeger, assistant superintendent in charge of Pinellas County high schools. "Compared to the old HSCT, the FCAT is a lot more challenging."

Florida's FCAT test has been a high-stakes test for a couple of years. The test helps determine a school's A-through-F grade, who gets vouchers, and who gets extra money. But the new graduation requirement pushes the stakes to an even higher level.

Other states have run into trouble when diplomas are at stake.

North Carolina and Alaska postponed their graduation test requirements. California eliminated some of the tougher math questions that stumped students. Arizona is considering postponing its graduation requirement after nearly 90 percent of its students failed the math section.

"This is a tough road, a balancing act for every state," said Mary Fulton, policy analyst for the Education Commission of State, which tracks education reform nationwide. "You try to end up with a failure rate that enables you to say, "This isn't terrible, it isn't great. We have a ways to go, and we have a plan to get there."'

The new cut score for graduation is a key part of the state's school accountability package. For years, business leaders have complained that students who earn Florida diplomas do not have the skills necessary for work. Also, Florida's colleges are forced each year to put recent high school graduates into remedial courses because they are not ready for college-level work.

In addition to setting the new minimum score, the Cabinet agreed to raise the bar in February for this year's sophomore class and for juniors who failed to score the minimum levels last year or this October. The cut score of 287 in reading and 295 in math will be raised to 300 for both. Based on the most recent test scores, that adjustment will result in passing rates of 70 percent in math and 58 percent in reading.

The Cabinet also agreed to postpone the resetting of "achievement levels" tied to the FCAT. The test scores range from 100 to 500, and the state has clustered scores into levels -- the lowest level being 100 through 286, and the second level being 287 through 314.

Those levels are important in the calculation of school grades. If a school has too many children scoring in that lowest achievement level, the school can be branded an F school.

Those achievement levels were to be adjusted upward in 2002, but the Cabinet agreed to postpone that until 2004.

Did you make the cut?

Under new high school graduation requirements approved by the governor and Cabinet Tuesday:

Students who took the FCAT last March as 10th-graders and scored below 287 in reading or below 295 in math have to retake the test and hit the minimum scores to graduate.

Statewide, 144,471 10th-graders took the test. In math, 36,117, or 25 percent, failed. In reading, 46,230, or 32 percent, failed.

The test will be given again in October and in June. Overall, students have six chances to pass it before graduation day.

In February, the passing score goes up to 300 in both math and reading for this year's 10th-graders and for last year's 10th-graders who failed to pass the tests in two previous tries. If you still don't pass, you have to reach the higher standard.