Stunning Revelation Made Just Days Before FSA Is Administered To Third Graders
BOCA RATON, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) — Just days before the FSA — the Florida Standards Assessment — starts, BocaNewsNow.com has learned that the Palm Beach County School District is requiring teachers to use preparation material that is incorrect.
The revelation raises questions about the potential accuracy of the test. The material, according to those familiar with the situation, was created by administrative personnel and “pushed out” districtwide.
Ironically, the material — which is grammatically flawed — is being used to reaffirm grammar editing for third graders.
In one question, a student is asked to read this sentence below and choose one of the following answers. The “S” was written in by a parent. The sentence “They have winds over 45 mile per hour” is incorrect, as are all of the options presented. The correct sentence is “45 miles per hour.”
In a second question, a student is asked to correct this sentence: “The fleet of Concordes’ was retired in 2003.” But again, all options are incorrect. There is nothing that belongs to the Concorde, nor is it plural in this instance.
The Palm Beach County School District did not respond by mid-day Friday to our questions posed Friday morning asking who created the prep material, why administrators did not review the material, and why principals at the school level are requiring that teachers use material that is incorrect.
The FSA measures not just student ability, but the quality of the teaching which is directly related to the management of the school. FSA scores play a factor in not just whether a child graduates to the next grade, but what grade the school itself receives.
BocaNewsNow.com has learned that this worksheet is being used county-wide. We obtained this worksheet from a school in unincorporated Boca Raton.
