{"id":7738,"date":"2012-05-18T13:59:52","date_gmt":"2012-05-18T17:59:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/?p=7738"},"modified":"2012-05-18T14:12:50","modified_gmt":"2012-05-18T18:12:50","slug":"half-of-9th-and-10th-graders-failed-fcat-2-0-reading-but-commissioner-says-thats-an-improvement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/2012\/05\/18\/half-of-9th-and-10th-graders-failed-fcat-2-0-reading-but-commissioner-says-thats-an-improvement\/","title":{"rendered":"Half Of 9th And 10th Graders Failed FCAT 2.0 Reading, But Commissioner Says That’s An Improvement"},"content":{"rendered":"
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fldoe.org<\/p>

Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson<\/p><\/div>\n

Florida Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson had some explaining to do. Under new standards set forth in FCAT 2.0<\/a>, about half of Florida\u2019s 9th<\/sup> and 10th<\/sup> graders failed the reading portion of the annual assessment test.<\/p>\n

In a teleconference with reporters, Robinson said the unspectacular scores are not surprising since standards are being raised. More is being expected of students as they transition into full implementation of national Common Core State Standards<\/a> within a few years. \u201cWe were very clear that there would be a downtrend in the percentage of students who passed,\u201d said Robinson.<\/p>\n

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Robinson said he\u2019s not happy that just half of those students passed. \u201cThe question is are we happy with the progress that we\u2019re making, are we happy with the level of investment\u2026to make sure that next year and the year after that students are moving in the right direction? Remember, when Florida changed its standards approximately ten years ago, you saw a down slope,” said Robinson. “In the intermediate years, you also found changes. There was a downward trend and then it moved forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

So, while the scores are not impressive<\/a>, they do show improvement. \u00a0\u201cIf you look at last year\u2019s score for 3 and above in grade 9, it was 48 percent. So, it\u2019s higher this year than last year. In grade 10, 39 percent of the students were level 3 or above (in 2011). This year for grade 10, it\u2019s 50 percent,\u201d said Robinson.\u00a0 \u201cLet\u2019s remember this is higher than what we had last year<\/a>; not as high as what we would like.\u201d<\/p>\n

FCAT 2.0 is evaluated this way:<\/p>\n