[EDLING:1783] Florida lags in high school language graduation testing

[Harold F. Schiffman]

Florida lags in high school graduation testing

Bill Kaczor
The Associated Press

August 16, 2006, 5:09 PM EDT

TALLAHASSEE -- Florida students ranked last in 2005 among 23 states that
gave reading or English language arts tests required for high school
graduation, with only 52 percent passing on the first try, the independent
Center on Education Policy reported today. Florida did much better,
though, in math. The state's first-time passing rate was 77 percent, good
for 10th place. The center's report titled "State High School Exams: A
Challenging Year"  was compiled from information collected from 22 states
that required an exam to earn a diploma last year, one -- Indiana -- that
began testing the 2006 class in 2003 and two that plan such tests in the
future.

It closely followed another report that showed Florida's ACT composite
score fell this year, although the national average was the highest of any
class since 1991 and the biggest annual increase in 20 years. The two
reports are among several national comparisons that have conflicted with
glowing state assessments. This year, three of every four Florida public
schools received grades of A or B from the state while only 23 -- a
fraction of 1 percent -- got an F. Florida Department of Education
spokeswoman Cathy Schroeder said state officials recognize the passage
rate for first-time test takers needs improving as shown by the Center on
Education Policy's report.

"It confirms to us what we knew all along: We need to increase the rigor
and relevance of middle and high school so that our students will be
prepared to succeed the very first time they take the FCAT," Schroeder
said. Legislation dubbed "A-Plus-Plus" was passed this year to help
achieve that goal by a variety of means including requirements that high
school students take a fourth year of math and focus on major fields of
interest. The state's ACT scores have declined in each of the last three
years, including a decline from 20.4 in 2005 to 20.3 in 2006 on the
college entrance test. Scores tend to drop as more students take the test
and Florida's participation increased from 41 percent last year to 44
percent in 2006, Schroeder said.

Gov. Jeb Bush said he was pleased that the number of Florida students
taking the ACT increased from 58,302 to 66,299. "We must encourage all of
our high school students to take these exams and prepare for the rigor of
college and the work force," Bush said in a statement. The state school
grades are based on the Florida Comprehensive Achievement Test. It is the
same test Florida high school students must pass to earn a diploma.

The center's report shows a first-time passing rate among 11 states
requiring a reading test ranging from Florida's low of 52 percent to a
high of 91 percent in Ohio. Other states test English language arts, which
can include reading, writing, grammar, literature and oral communication,
instead of or in addition to reading only. The lowest first-time passing
rate on those tests was 57 percent in Maryland, still better than
Florida's reading rate. The highest was Georgia's 95 percent. Florida's
white students (65 percent), black students (28 percent), and Hispanic
students (41 percent), ranked last in reading or English language arts in
a sampling of eight states broken down by ethnicity. The 37 point gap
between white and black students in Florida also was the biggest among the
eight states.

"An achievement gap still exists in Florida for our Hispanic students and
our African American students, but we have been successful in slowly but
steadily reducing that gap and we won't be successful until no gap
exists," Schroeder said.
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