TAMPA — Robin DeVault’s 15-year-old daughter knew there were problems with the Florida Standards Assessment the second she saw the test.
“She was quite upset. She got in the car and said, ‘Mom, that was an epic fail,’” said DeVault, president of the Hillsborough County Council PTA. “You don’t want to hold students and teachers accountable for something they haven’t been prepared for. How would you like that in your job?”
DeVault wasn’t the only one upset by the new Florida Standards Assessment, a standardized test that replaced the reading, writing and math portions of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test last school year to align with the state’s new education standards.
An independent analysis of the test released this month said there were issues in nearly every aspect of it. The test accomplished its goals to a degree — scores can be relied upon collectively for teacher evaluations and school grades — but students’ individual scores shouldn’t factor in their graduation or class placement, the report said.
