Some Central Florida parents who had their third graders skip Florida’s standardized reading test now find their children threatened with being held back, even if they are strong readers who finished the school year with good report cards.
The parents, part of the “opt out” movement opposed to high-stakes testing, are furious.
They are convinced school districts are not following state law and are instead retaliating against families who refused to take part in the Florida Standards Assessments. They did so as an act of civil disobedience to protest what they view as the state’s over-reliance on an unproven standardized test.
“There’s no reason for a third grader with straight As to be retained,” said parent Rhonda Nickerson, whose 9-year-old daughter may be barred from fourth grade at a Seminole County elementary school. “What are they going to do with her in third grade again?”
Nickerson’s daughter did not take the FSA. Her report card shows the girl earned As in all her academic subjects. But it also reads, “Student Retained in Grade 3.”
Nickerson, like other parents interviewed for this story, asked that the name of her daughter not be used. She is hoping to push district educators to make a different decision.
Central Florida school officials, however, say they are abiding by state law in considering retention for students without an FSA language-arts score. Some argue these parents erred in telling their children to answer no questions on a state-mandated exam. But they also say they are trying to get these children to fourth grade.
“Administrators work with students and families to provide every legal opportunity for each child to succeed,” said Mike Lawrence, spokesman for the Seminole school district.
State law says taking the FSA is mandatory and makes the third-grade language arts exam key, as students who fail it face repeating the grade. The law, however, is silent on what happens if a third grader has no FSA score, so both sides in this fight argue the statutes are in their favor.
The debate involves a tiny fraction of Florida’s third graders, as about 0.1 percent or 224 students have no FSA score, according to the Florida Department of Education.
That includes six students in Lake County, 12 students in Orange County and two in Seminole County. These students did not necessarily opt out – a metric that is not tracked by the state since it says such action is not allowed – but they did not do enough on the exam to earn a score.