Send Us Your Stories About FCAT Problems

April 18, 2012 | 12:57 PM

By John O'Connor

Some St. Johns County students had trouble logging in to take the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test online, according to the St. Augustine Record.

Florida is expanding the use of computer-based testing. The problems were with test contractor Pearson, school officials said. Pearson is being paid $254 million over four years to administer the FCAT.

But coupled with problems a science teacher and blogger found with practice material questions, it got us wondering just how many issues students, schools and teachers are having with the FCAT.

We’d like to hear your stories about what has worked and, especially, what is not or has not worked with the FCAT. Heard of any errors? Please post them in the comments, or email us at joconnor AT stateimpact.org. Well check them out and let you know what we find.

Comments

tnguyengp

I work with a company that administers computer based testing and have found that using computer
based exams help meet the diverse needs of exam administrators in the academic,
certification and licensing realms. Computer based tests provide fair and easy
access to everyone. Moreover, enabling the use of computers would
improve readability, thereby simplifying the grading process and deter cheating.

Than Nguyen

http://www.examsoft.com
a concerned teacher

I tested my sophomores on Wednesday and Friday. On Wednesday, as my students finished session 1 and were ready to exit session 1, I walked them through the process one by one, verifying that the final screen showed no unanswered questions for session 1. (FYI -Before students exit session 1 and submit their answers, they reach a stop sign screen, when they click submit and exit – a screen pops up that shows whether they have any unanswered questions. When my students reached the stop sign on Wednesday per the FCAT script, I instructed them to raise their hand so that I could walk them through the process. Each of my students screen showed they had no unanswered questions in session 1 and 27 unanswered questions in session 2(section 4). ( Session 1′s questions are in section 2) and Session 2′s questions are in section 4). On Friday, my students took session 2 ( includes sections 3 and 4). When one of my students went to exit the test, he called me over because he was now showing 6 unanswered questions in ( from session 1). He asked me if there was anything that could be done since he knew he had answered all the questions. I referred him to an administrator. What happens in a case like this? This test means graduation for my student.

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