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Blog: FCAR
Speakout
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Support open, broad-based assessment of learning --
contribute to FCAR.
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 When
Childhood Meets NCLB. That's the title of Susan Ohanian's new book.
See sample pages! Order the book!
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In
Memoriam. Steve Orel, a student advocate and anti-high-stakes-testing
activist from Birmingham, AL, died at his home early today [July 7, 2007],
after a two-year battle with cancer.
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(May 28, 2007)
Open Letter to Governor Crist
and Education Commissioner Blomberg. FCAR sends open
letter to Gov. Crist and Ed. Commissioner Blomberg calling for comprehensive,
public review of state tests in wake of scoring error. You can also read about it at The
St. Petersburg Times education blog
The
Gradebook. See our issues page for much more.
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Acting commissioner of education Jeanine Blomberg's statement "Regarding
Variations in Third Grade FCAT Reading Results," released on May 23,
2007 (Click here for MS Word®
or PDF versions)
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FCAT Abuse: The Real Jeb Bush Legacy to
Florida and Its Schools
By Robert R. Lange, November 13, 2006
FCAR member and retired professor of educational measurement Bob Lange
responds to Jeb Bush's chest-beating account of his education "legacy."
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(September 20, 2006)
State Education Data Indicate Florida’s FCAT
Based Grade Retention Policy Is A Failure
FCAR activist and retired professor Bob Lange has released a new statement
in response to a recent study of FCAT data by the Manhattan Institute. |
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(September 17, 2006)
Paid Cheerleaders
Commentary by retired professor of Educational Research, Data Analysis, and
Measurement Dr. Robert Lange, on the Hoover Institution's analysis of the
effects of Florida's so-called A+ plan. |
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(August 18, 2006)
Rewards too good for students to pass up
S. Brady Calhoun of the Panama City News Herald details another blatant FCAT
bribery scheme — from the same Bay County
high school that gave a new Toyota to a 15-year-old last spring. |
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Read FCAR president
Gloria Pipkin's letter to
Nebraska education commissioner Doug Christensen, commending him for his
spirited defense of the state's innovative local-option assessment system |
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(July 12, 2006)
Teachers, and a Law That Distrusts Them
Mike Winerip of the New York Times writes his last education column -- and
cites
FCAR director and pre-K teacher extraordinaire Laurin MacLeish as one of
"the people who took me to the heart of education." |
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(July 4, 2006)
Viewpoint: FCAT makes children political
pawns FCAR member and parent
activist Lara McKnight scores again with another great commentary. |
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(April, 6, 2006) One
mother's FCAT battle at capitol
Pensacola parent activist (and FCAR member) Lara McKnight gives her
account of testifying before the House preK-12 education committee on the
impact FCAT has had on her family. To see video of this hearing, including
remarks by USF's Dr. Sherman Dorn (also an FCAR member), go to
http://199.44.254.202/archive/MBR/H_2242_2006_03_28_2709.asx.
Consideration of the bill starts 1 hour, 11 minutes, and 45 seconds into the
video. |
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Report from Public Hearing on Grade Retention March 1, 2006 Miami
By Barbara Barry [Orange County school counselor who was one of the principal
speakers at the hearing] |
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(January 11, 2006) The ultimate
drive: Bay High uses grant, fundraiser money to buy prizes for good students,
By S. Brady Calhoun, The New Herald [Panama City] |
| (May 31,
2005) Orlando Sentinel supports FCAR's
position on Truth in Testing. Their position: "It's foolish for Florida to
continue to keep the test's details from the public." |
| (May 25,
2005) The Ft. Myers News-Press echoes FCAR's
position on Truth in Testing: "Parents and students should have the right
to review individual tests to see exactly where the students did well and
where they did poorly, and to double-check the scoring for accuracy." |
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(June 2,
2005) Tallahassee Democrat reports that
Parents want
individual tests: Results would show problem areas. This story quotes
FCAR President Gloria Pipkin and FCAR Director Judy Castillo. |
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(May 23,
2005) Why do we need Truth in Testing? The South Florida Sun-Sentinel says
Mysteries of FCAT irk some observers: Scoring and other details about
Florida's exams have not been shared with the public. |
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On August 11, 2003, FCAR issued its "Free the FCAT" press release (see Press
Releases below). On September 23, 2003, the Tallahassee Democrat published an
editorial supporting our position called
Free the FCAT: Parents should be able to see the test. |
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For more editorial support for Truth in Testing, see
Editorial responses to parent access to graded FCATs. [Also
available in MS Word®] |
Media Coverage of the
Florida Coalition for Assessment Reform
Press Releases
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Parents, teachers, professors,
children, young adults, and senators gathered in Orlando on Saturday, February
14, 2004, for Truth in Testing: Parents' Right to Know, an FCAR drive-in
conference culminating in an outdoor rally on beautiful Lake Eola. Co-sponsors
were Manatee RATPACK --Really Angry Teachers, Parents and Activists Coalition
for Kids, and FCAT Changes of Indian River County. [Photos by Mike Pierce] |
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On Saturday, March 13, 2004, Sarah
Robinson, FCAR's Pinellas rep, led a session in Clearwater on "Putting FCAT to
the Test" at Parent University, an annual event that draws hundreds of parents.
In the Community Resources exhibit hall of Parent U., FCAR directors John Perry
and Dave Miner, along with a good group of RATPACKers, distributed buttons,
Truth in Testing legislative flyers, and FCAR brochures, and talked to all
comers about FCAR.
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