On December 3rd, 2004, Forest Hills Elementary School (Tampa) held its annual
Tropicana speech contest. Two of the speakers tackled the subject of ending
FCAT. Both of these speakers and their parents have granted us permission
to post their speeches here. Enjoy!
FCAT’s Gotta Go
by Joshua Salas
Most kids in school would love to learn about all kinds of
different interesting subjects. But there is one BIG problem. The FCAT- a fancy
word for Florida’s test.
From the beginning of the first day of school in August until the day in March
when the test is given, teachers are cramming testing materials into our school
day. That leaves very little time to have fun activities in other areas that we
might be interested in.
Most of the test is inferencing. That means you have to pull
the answers out of the reading. That is very challenging for most kids because
of their lack of prior knowledge. They might not have been exposed to, or aren’t
aware of, certain topics.
In Hillsborough county, there were third graders that did not
get promoted to the fourth grade because they couldn’t master the FCAT test.
That’s just one test taken towards the end of the year. There were even high
school seniors in the honors programs that weren’t allowed to graduate because
they hadn’t passed the FCAT. That’s absurd!!! Students should at least be given
four tests a year. One every nine weeks. And if we show improvement on all four
tests, then we show progress for the next grade.
Another problem I have with the FCAT tests is that when they
say it’s a reading test, why do they make us write to respond? Multiple-choice
questions should be enough. Our writing skills are already assessed in 2nd, 4th,
8th and 10th grade. If they want to see how well we can read, then let us spend
the time reading and not have to spend it writing when it’s a timed test.
Speaking of time, why is the FCAT a timed test at all? If
they want to see how well we can read, then give us all the time we need to read
and answer all the questions.
The teachers should grade the tests at the school so that
they will be able to closely monitor what areas their students might still need
assistance with. They could provide us with the strategies needed to master our
weak areas. Now, when we take FCAT, we have to wait months until we get the
results. And who knows who grades them way up in Tallahassee? By the time the
results come back in May, school is almost over. It’s too late for teachers to
even help students in their weak areas.
Not everyone does well in stressful situations! I support
eliminating the FCAT test and letting teachers and student get back to enjoying
learning that’s good for their health!
Should We Have to Take the FCAT?
by Alexis Harmon
Should we have to take the FCAT? Well, I don’t think we
should have to. Here are some of the reasons why I don’t think we should have to
take the FCAT.
First of all, the FCAT testing system is not the most
accurate testing system for the school’s grade because you can be a good student
but a bad test taker, which will bring the school grade down. The students are
taught to pass the FCAT so the school will get a good grade…but this will not
give a true reflection of the child’s true abilities. You can have a school with
a grade A which only means that the teachers taught the students how to test
well on the standardized testing. You can have a C rated school that is better
or just as good as an A rated school.
Secondly, kids may not be good test takers. Some have a 4.0
grade average but do poorly on a standardized test because they might get
nervous since they are being timed and this punishes the student unfairly. Some
kids may have mild learning disabilities that are not recognized by the school
board and do not get any special testing guidelines, therefore they can test
low, but be an intelligent student.
Last, but not least, teachers take too much time preparing
the kids how to take a standardized test. If the teachers do not take time to
teach the kids how to take the FCAT, their jobs may be on the line, the school
may lose funding, and the school’s grade will be low. Due to the teachers having
to take so much time to teach how to take the FCAT, the teachers have no time
left in the school year to teach other important subjects they need to learn in
that grade. Therefore, the students might not be ready for the next grade.
In conclusion, I don’t think we should have to take the FCAT
because it will not give an accurate assessment of the school’s grade, also you
can be a good student, but a bad test taker, and you could fail because of it.
Teachers take too much time teaching students how to take a standardized test
and do not have enough time for other important things. That’s why I don’t think
we should have to take the FCAT.
