Nearly half of the students who took some Florida Standards Assessments exams would fail under the latest grading proposal.
Florida's education commissioner said her recommendations are about accountability.
The debate over who passes and fails FSA exams is becoming as controversial as the test itself.
"To change a cut score on a test that we don't have enough data on, I think is irresponsible at this point in time," Seminole County School Board Chairman Tina Calderone said.
The state grades the exams on a scale of one to five. A student needs a three or higher to pass. Under the commissioner's proposal, 49 percent of students would flunk the 10th grade FSA English Language Arts exam. The test is important to students hoping to graduate.
"This should be used only as a baseline year," Calderone said.
The tests were administered last year, and most districts have already used other factors to determine if students should move on.
Calderone said she believes in high standards, but she's worried about how the scores will be used, especially when it comes to assigning an overall grade to a school.
"I think it'll have a great economic development impact. What business wants to move into a state when you have a bunch of failing schools?" Calderone said.
The commissioner's proposal isn't all that different from what a panel of educators suggested. In a statement, the commissioner said, "These recommendations are in line with the performance we should expect from our state's students at each grade level for each subject,"
School superintendents issued their own statement Friday, saying they've lost faith in the state's accountability system and called on the Florida Department of Education to consider issuing all schools a grade of incomplete for last year.
The State Board of Education will get the final say on the grades. They are expected to take action by January.
Florida's education commissioner said her recommendations are about accountability.
The debate over who passes and fails FSA exams is becoming as controversial as the test itself.
"To change a cut score on a test that we don't have enough data on, I think is irresponsible at this point in time," Seminole County School Board Chairman Tina Calderone said.
The state grades the exams on a scale of one to five. A student needs a three or higher to pass. Under the commissioner's proposal, 49 percent of students would flunk the 10th grade FSA English Language Arts exam. The test is important to students hoping to graduate.
"This should be used only as a baseline year," Calderone said.
The tests were administered last year, and most districts have already used other factors to determine if students should move on.
Calderone said she believes in high standards, but she's worried about how the scores will be used, especially when it comes to assigning an overall grade to a school.
"I think it'll have a great economic development impact. What business wants to move into a state when you have a bunch of failing schools?" Calderone said.
The commissioner's proposal isn't all that different from what a panel of educators suggested. In a statement, the commissioner said, "These recommendations are in line with the performance we should expect from our state's students at each grade level for each subject,"
School superintendents issued their own statement Friday, saying they've lost faith in the state's accountability system and called on the Florida Department of Education to consider issuing all schools a grade of incomplete for last year.
The State Board of Education will get the final say on the grades. They are expected to take action by January.
WFTV
