How best to set proposed “cut scores,” or passing rates, for the new Florida Standards Assessments continues to divide state Board of Education members and state Education Commissioner Pam Stewart.
The board plans to set the cut scores in January and continues to debate whether the scores should be set higher than what Stewart recommends — which would make it more difficult for students to pass the statewide assessment.
During the board’s monthly meeting Friday, held via conference call, Vice-Chairman John Padget continued to push for stricter scores that are more in line with the National Assessments of Educational Progress, a nationwide assessment given to only a sampling of students in every state.
