Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Learning Environments Florida FCAT testing

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/state/....html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=0

"They may look like writers, act like writers, but they are really task completers - practicing for FCAT Writing,"

How exactly do you teach expositive and narrative essay writing with out a template and practice?

Boy, I sure can't wait until we switch over to national standards

This is a real issue for me since I used to teach in Florida before I left to homeschool DS6. I have a real serious issue with the FCAT...it is one of the main reasons why I lost my love of teaching...when we are being coached as Kindergarten teacher to teach kindergarten children how to bubble in answers in order to prepare them for the FCAT...I said enough. We used to teach writing with this 4 square template model that all K teachers in the county had to use....it allowed NO creativity, no voice of their own....it was template writing at its best....all kids "writing" sounded like robots and was the same.....I had friends in 3rd grade that HATED teaching 3rd grade all because of the FCAT...they are told to teach to the test...schools spend SO much effort to work on the writing scores..nothing about really teaching the kids to write...but how to write to get a score of 3 or above. Every morning, school's across the county on the morning announcements gave the entire school a writing prompt EVERY morning and each class had to complete it. My school actually had their staff come in over the summer and we spent hours and hours breaking the FCAT scores down to fine pick where the lowest skills/scores were and how to raise them up the following year.
I just lost the love of teaching and I saw so many kids just get squashed all because of this silly test!!!!! Our county had numerous schools that were flagged because their student's writing entries all looked the same (template writing)..and I am not surprised...when the kids write, at least at my old school, the kids were told not to be creative and to stick to the basics. BLAH

Got to agree with you CFK...we went to visit my son's elementary school last week that he is starting this year after homeschooling for K (his choice not mine!) and all along the hallways were stacks and stacks of FCAT practice workbooks for all the grade levels.

I remember trying to fight the current when I was teaching and would throw in various "un"FCAT lessons and boy was I slammed. I think there is a real issue when children are going home complaining of stomach pains and not sleeping all because they are stressed out about the 3rd grade FCAT tests.

I think they meant well when the FCAT was first started but now it has taken on its own entity. My son last year was given the "baby" FCAT because his 3 year IEP evaluation was due. I about barfed when I heard what it was called.

I don't allow the school to say the "F" word to me anymore. Seriously. If somebody slips up, they will be subject to a rant about how that is not education. The F test was one reason given initially for not accelerating my son. But it's always on their minds if not on their lips.

Are other states having the same problems with standardized tests as us?
Will it get worse or better if Florida goes to national standards? Not that I'm fan..