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Math Tests For Thousands Of Florida Students Will Not Count

About half a million students across the state took Math tests this year that will end up not counting towards their final grade. WUWF’s Bob Barrett spoke with Escambia County School Superintendent about this latest situation involving testing in Florida.

  • Thomas says they knew the results for the Florida Standards Assessment test for English, Language Arts and Math for grades 3 - 10 would not be ready until later in the Fall. The surprise was the end of course exams for Algebra 1, Geometry and Algebra 2. Now, because of legislation requiring a validity study that needs to be completed before the scores can be released, those scores will also be delayed until at least the Fall.
  • Those tests were to count as 30% of a student's final grade for those three subjects. 
  • Thomas says all superintendents across the state were asking for guidance on how to handle the situation. Earlier this week, the Commissioner of Education corresponded with the superintendents and gave them flexibility grade students how each district sees fit.
  • In Escambia County, teachers will be given the flexibility to grade students using class work and exams already completed throughout the school year. Thomas says it will be done on a class by class basis. He also says the teachers know best what they were looking to accomplish with each class so they will be the best arbiters of a student's  final grade.

Santa Rosa County Superintendent Tim Wyrosdick could not return a call for comment by air time, but was quoted in the Pensacola News Journal saying teachers would calculate all assessments, tests and classwork to determine final grades. 

Bob Barrett has been a radio broadcaster since the mid 1970s and has worked at stations from northern New York to south Florida and, oddly, has been able to make a living that way. He began work in public radio in 2001. Over the years he has produced nationally syndicated programs such as The Environment Show and The Health Show for Northeast Public Radio's National Productions.