Palm Beach Post, The (Florida)
May 5, 2011
HEADLINE: Writing scores a mixed bag

By Allison Ross

The number of Palm Beach County students ranked proficient on the writing FCAT dropped significantly this year. Or it swelled to "historic" highs.

It all depends on what you call proficient.

The number of students deemed proficient this year dropped significantly in Palm Beach County and throughout the state, according to results released Wednesday by the state Department of Education. But students overwhelmingly did better on the test.

Last year, the level of proficiency was set as a score of 3 on a 6-point scale, after a change in the way the exam is scored made it impossible to attain a 3.5, which until then had been the standard.

Because of that, scores last year shot up overwhelmingly -- with 94 percent or more of fourth-, eighth- and 10th-graders statewide scoring proficient.

This year, the state Department of Education set the level of proficiency for students taking the writing portion of the FCAT at 4 -- and the percentage of students who got that grade rose dramatically.

"Our educators continue to rise to the occasion, answering the call of increased expectations for our students to ensure they are leaving school ready for the next step," Florida Education Commissioner Eric J. Smith said in a statement.

"Every time the state raises its expectations for student achievement, the talent and skill of our teachers, combined with the ability of our children, leads to success."

Some massive increases

The new data shows that 85 percent of fourth-graders, 86 percent of eighth-graders and 82 percent of high school sophomores in Palm Beach County got proficient marks of 4 or above.

That's better than the state as a whole, where 81 percent of fourth-graders, 82 percent of eighth-graders and 75 percent of 10th-graders were scored proficient.

"The state changed its proficiency rating to a 4, and our students met the bar," Diana Yohe, a district writing specialist, said of the results from the 38,809 Palm Beach County students who took the writing FCAT in early March.

Some schools saw massive increases -- particularly elementary schools.

For example, the number of fourth-graders at Glade View Elementary in Belle Glade with a 4 or higher jumped from 45 percent to 92 percent.

At Plumosa School of the Arts in Delray Beach, the rate jumped from 44 percent to 87 percent.

Renatta Espinoza, principal and founder of the Academy for Positive Learning charter school in Lake Worth, screamed when she heard all 11 of her eighth-graders received scores of 4 or better on this year's exam.

"Holy cow," she crowed. "This is great."

Espinoza attributed the high marks to Christopher Winkles, who teaches English in grades 6 through8.

Winkles, who joined the school this year, said he uses group exercises and multimedia to teach kids to write, and concentrates on vocabulary and descriptive phrases.

"We don't just eat a candy bar," Winkles said. "We salivate over it. We describe how it smells, how our taste buds jump."

Scores due May 12

Students in the fourth, eighth and 10th grades each year take the test, which consists of a 45-minute timed period in which students in each of the three grades write an essay using the same type of writing: narrative, expository or persuasive.

Scores from the writing FCAT contribute to schools' grades and to measurements of schools' and districts' progress under the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

Last year, to save money, the state reduced the number of people scoring each exam from two to one; in the past, each student's grade was an average of the two graders' scores.

The cuts meant that the score of 3.5, then the current level for proficiency, was suddenly impossible to get.

On May 17, the state Board of Education will discuss whether to move the bar for proficiency on the exam for school grading purposes from a score of 3.5 to a score of 4.

Districts should receive individual students' writing scores by May 12.

The reading, math and science FCAT scores will be released in the coming weeks.