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The FCAT is aligned to end of course standards for high school. It appears to only be for high school students and is in fact aligned to state standards for each course.
I took standardized tests back in 1996. In my state, those were IGAP and IOWA. Those were pretty straightforward, consisting of reading and math material from current grade and earlier. There was no "teaching to the test" that I remember. All I remember is that for one week before testing, there were 15- to 20-minute "IGAP/IOWA coaching sessions" in language arts and math classes. They consisted of practice tests, not unlike those for SAT/ACT, to get the kids accustomed to the format. Outside of that, lessons were business as usual. Oh, there was free breakfast for everyone at school (normally only for eligible kids), and an outside company handed out granola bars in-between test sessions.
I don't know if I agree or disagree with standardized tests. In the form I did them, they weren't half bad. I'd probably be singing a different tune if I were the same age in 2016.
Last edited by MillennialUrbanist; 11-30-2016 at 09:50 AM..
Many state tests do not have those standards. I am exactly not calling out teachers that does not teach those standards. How about teachers being loaded with students that are IEP. Many times these students are rarely being assesed by an ESE professional. More than likely they will score low on the tests and the teacher will be held accountable.
In daycare did you have students who actually had IEPs?
In daycare did you have students who actually had IEPs?
PreK! ! Is not daycare and yes I have had children with IEP. Now with a smaller class size, I only have 1! He has a behavior issue. At my last job, about 2 students in my class had a severe intellectual issue because they were considered drug abused children or they were in the womb while their parents were doing drugs and it slowed their brain growth. They were IEP children and a few had speech impediments.
I took standardized tests back in 1996. In my state, those were IGAP and IOWA. Those were pretty straightforward, consisting of reading and math material from current grade and earlier. There was no "teaching to the test" that I remember. All I remember is that for one week before testing, there were 15- to 20-minute "IGAP/IOWA coaching sessions" in language arts and math classes. They consisted of practice tests, not unlike those for SAT/ACT, to get the kids accustomed to the format. Outside of that, lessons were business as usual. Oh, there was free breakfast for everyone at school (normally only for eligible kids), and an outside company handed out granola bars in-between test sessions.
I don't know if I agree or disagree with standardized tests. In the form I did them, they weren't half bad. I'd probably be singing a different tune if I were the same age in 2016.
I was taking standadrized tests since 1997-2010. My earliest memory of a standardized test was when in the first grade.
The FCAT is aligned to end of course standards for high school. It appears to only be for high school students and is in fact aligned to state standards for each course.
Why do you think florida does not have state standards?
The FCAT was horrible! It is not in place anymore due to the low scores students were receiving. Researchers and many people that were teachers in Florida found out that although the test aligned with state standards, many of the questions were not easily understood by the students. Most of the schools that succeeded on the FCAT was schools that catered to students of a higher socioeconomic bracket.
We had to take the FCAT in middle and Highschool. My district was and still is considered a very poor rural area. I can recall a local study that found out many children were also failing due to impoverishment.
I know many adults without a diploma because they could not pass the FCAT. Back then there was an alternative of passing the ACT or SAT if a student could not pass the FCAT.
I passed the math portion my last year of high school and earned my diploma graduation night.
That test was a nightmare. The school was so poor that they could not afford quality educators. I remember school officials mailing letters home explaining to parents that non certified teachers are teaching the students. On the bottom of the paper was a checkbox that allowed parents to check yes or no if they are ok with teachers with no education to teach your child.
My final year of high school the DOE of Florida placed the school under review.
Last edited by CollegeCurious; 11-30-2016 at 11:40 AM..
The FCAT was horrible! It is not in place anymore due to the low scores students were receiving. Researchers and many people that were teachers in Florida found out that although the test aligned with state standards, many of the questions were not easily understood by the students. Most of the schools that succeeded on the FCAT was schools that catered to students of a higher socioeconomic bracket.
We had to take the FCAT in middle and Highschool. My district was and still is considered a very poor rural area. I can recall a local study that found out many children were also failing due to impoverishment.
I know many adults without a diploma because they could not pass the FCAT. Back then there was an alternative of passing the ACT or SAT if a student could not pass the FCAT.
I passed the math portion my last year of high school and earned my diploma graduation night.
That test was a nightmare. The school was so poor that they could not afford quality educators. I remember school officials mailing letters home explaining to parents that non certified teachers are teaching the students. On the bottom of the paper was a checkbox that allowed parents to check yes or no if they are ok with teachers with no education to teach your child.
My final year of high school the DOE of Florida placed the school was under review.
Than it is not an example of a standardized test that is not aligned to state standards.
You claimed that "many states" gave standardized tests that were not aligned to the state standards. So far you have shown ZERO.
Than it is not an example of a standardized test that is not aligned to state standards.
You claimed that "many states" gave standardized tests that were not aligned to the state standards. So far you have shown ZERO.
Now I get the big picture, it wasn't the tests but maybe the quality of the schools. I figured they weren't teaching state standards because I have never in my life seen those concepts in public school until I took the FCAT.
I also would like to add that I still do not agree with many school districts ruled to judge a student's intellectual ability on a standardized test! Many students were not allowed to be promoted or graduate due to the FCAT. It was a nightmare. Out of 150 students only 60 actually walked and got a diploma.
Firstly, Functional means that Education has many ways to make society functional or helpful. Conflict means Education has many aspects that hurt people rather than help.One of the biggest conflicts of education is standardize testing.
If states allow standardized testing to be used incorrectly isn't this a conflict in the system towards young children? The type of children that are more likely to get conflicted are those of a certain gender, race, and economic background. There are many intersectionons in education and those I listed are just a few.
I disagree with you when you stated that standardized testing make for better grades or student achievements.
My location:rural south
My gender: female
My race: Black
My economic background: Middle class
I was a top achiever in school but failed the math portion of my state standardized test. Although I had great grades in math, my ability to do math was based by what I scored on the state test. I was placed in remedial math where majority was people of color. My reading scores were high so I was placed in Advanced English or Reading classes where majority of the students were white. Do you realize what I am trying to explain?
Educational attainment was attainable to whites more than those of color due to the fact that many of the white students in my district were of a different cultural background. They were of the cultural background that the test favors.
That is why standardized testing makes education a conflict within society.
Man, I really really want to be on your side, because I am not a fan of the amount of standardized testing being imposed on our kids recently. So much so that I am making some pretty major financial sacrifices to pay for private schools for my kids. But it is very difficult to follow your writing. It really is. I don't want to be mean about it like some of the other posters. I just want to let you know that your writing style is hard to follow. You may want to consider taking a technical writing class, and learning how to proofread. It's just hard to stay on topic in a thread like this.
I also wanted to say something about your assertion that the white students in your district were of the cultural background that the test favors, at least in the realm of mathematics. That might be true, but in this case I think the test might be beneficial, by exposing the fact that many non-white students are not being given adequate early math and reasoning instruction because of their culture. I think that their culture does not promote this, and I think that is a big reason for the race gap. It shows exactly what can be improved in the culture to improve outcomes. Specifically, black parents putting an emphasis on early math and reasoning with their children. Teaching their children to count. Buying toys that promote mathematical thinking, like counting toys, legos, card games, etc. Sending their kids to preschool instead of leaving them with grandma sitting in front of the TV every day. I know many black parents who consider these things important, but they tell me that they basically have to fight against their own culture, their own families, in this. It's hard for them, and it shouldn't have to be.
It's very telling that you and other black students received high math grades but low math scores on the test. It means that teachers were giving black kids high grades in math on their report cards, whether or not they knew the math, just because they were black. Instead of TEACHING them the harder math, they just let them get by on the easy stuff and wrote an A on the report card and passed the students on. It's a huge disservice that those teachers did to you. And I'm sorry for it. I'm hope you will never neglect to teach any of your students what they deserve to be taught because you think they can't handle it due to the color of their skin.
It's a jungle. I know of this one school that didn't allow children diplomas of they failed a state test.
As a senior in high school? Taking a comprehensive test that they have to graduate?
Out of all of the standardized tests that I despise, that is the one test that I fully support. Internationally, study after study have shown that the comprehensive end-of-school exam is the one standardized test shown to be beneficial to a student's education. All of the countries with successful educational systems have the comprehensive end-of-school exam in common. It gives a high school education legitimacy, and if gives a student a clear goal and a purpose for their education.
I would be in support of ripping out all of the current standardized tests in all grades completely, if they could just replace them all with one short comprehensive test at the end of each grade that has to be passed in order to be promoted to the next grade. One test a year, that lasts a day or two, and done. Voila.
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