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Readers Weigh In On Report Cards Schools Earned With FCAT Scores

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 16, 2008

Readers at TBO.com weighed in on the recently released report card for Florida schools based on results from the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Tests. There were two failing schools in Hillsborough County, Broward and Sulphur Springs elementaries. Among high schools, 10 in the county got A grades - Alonso, Hillsborough, Newsome, Riverview, Plant, Bloomingdale, Sickles, Tampa Bay Technical, Freedom and Gaither. Only three high schools got A grades in 2007. Of all Hillsborough schools, 143 got A's or B's in the report, up from 137 last year. Here are excerpts from user posts.

Any possibility that some of the teachers in the failing school are actually very poor teachers and should be fired? In the private sector, if you do not produce results, you know the drill. Hold administrators and teachers to the same accountability and let's publicly hold the parents to the same standards.

Posted by RRR

Let's start raising the education standard at home. The parents don't care or take any time to help educate their kids, therefore the kids don't care. Teachers can be great and catch a few kids and change their lives, but it's not enough if it isn't happening at home.

Posted by Bloorain

Nobody likes the idea of "social promotion." But in some cases, the alternative is 40-year-old fourth graders. Many who are quick to criticize our public schools have no idea what many teachers are confronted with every day. The continued comparison with the business sector has no merit. Businesses can dismiss employees or clients as they see fit. Public schools have no such option. Day after day they must play with the cards they're dealt. As a 30-year veteran of the Hillsborough County school district, I challenge each of you to volunteer enough hours in one of our most socio-economically deprived schools to see what's going on, what teachers are up against. I guarantee you won't be so quick to criticize.

Posted by Reptaddict

To those who say teachers at failing schools should be fired, I dare one of you to try working there. Does anyone know where Sulphur Springs Elementary is? Anyone who chooses to work there and try to make a difference is a saint.

Posted by Mrj3814

Florida's primary and secondary level public education systems are an embarrassment. Thank goodness we have the means to send our children to private school. The first year or so was fine, until the principal and assistant moved to other schools and the replacements were substandard. I'd never realized how important leadership was in the education system. Frankly, it seems as critical as it is in business.

Posted by EdStickley

How were schools graded back in the '80's? I don't remember having to spend half the school year learning how to take a test. The FCAT isn't making our kids smarter, and it appears that the only real reason behind the FCAT is to give schools more money per student. Here's a thought: maybe pay some of the teachers and administrators more because they deserve it, not because Jeb Bush decided it was the best thing to do. My son's high school made the "F" list this year in its second year in existence, and the students seem to be excelling in spite of it? What am I missing?

Posted by Libra40

It seems to me that we as a society approach education backwards. We send our kids to elementary schools on the taxpayer's dime and then create an environment that is intolerable for the teachers because the students, if they learn one thing, learn that the teacher is not the authority figure and that they are equal to if not more powerful than the teacher. Education suffers, measurements are taken, and more and more taxpayer dollars are thrown into the problem. Nothing changes, but we expect different results. Go figure. The taxpayers, or should I say property owners through their property taxes, pay for Johnny's education for at least 12 years. If Johnny graduates, he is then for the first time realizing stiff competition to get into college, where his parents have to pay exorbitant sums of money for four years.

Posted by Repsolman

I'm proud to say that the school where I teach went up a letter grade. My school worked extremely hard to go up a grade and we are so happy with the results. However, there are still children at my school that did not make adequate gains, but who is at fault for that? It's certainly not the teacher or the child. Teachers spend countless hours preparing lessons to not only teach the curriculum but also help prepare students for the FCAT. Students are bombarded with content and preparation, beginning in August and not ending until the FCAT is over. Hopefully, in the coming years, the state will see that FCAT is pretty pointless.

Posted by Teacher2008

I am trying to figure this out. Parents fuss because the Florida school system is subpar, and then when teachers raise the bar and actually make students work and use their brain, the parents fuss because we "make it too hard." It is a no-win situation. For example, I had a parent the last couple weeks of school state that her daughter deserved an A on a project because "she worked really hard on it." It didn't matter that she did not follow the directions or that her information was either not there or incorrect. There's a huge double standard - raise the bar on education, but make sure my child gets an A regardless of whether they earned it or not. Parents, take a look at the grading scale. A "C" is not doing poorly, it is average, and an "A" is outstanding.

Posted by Mkmomma

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