Florida standarized science test really doesn't care their answers are wrong.

[Pholus]

Just more "our students are failing so we need privatization of schools" grist from the Education Nation corporations...

http://science.slashdot.org/story/12/04/16/2119219/florida-thinks-their-students-are-too-stupid-to-know-the-right-answers

Points to this original blog post by happyscientist

http://thehappyscientist.com/blog/problems-floridas-science-fcat-test

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The gist of it after reading this sad, sad post:

A science teacher looked at the PRACTICE Florida high stakes science standards exam and found several questions where the correct answer was not "right." In another case, he found THREE scientifically correct answers but only one of course was "right."

Upon bringing up his concerns to the Florida Department of Education's Test Development Center, he was informed that it really doesn't matter because in their opinion fifth graders wouldn't know the correct answers anyway. In any case, while they agreed with him they saw no need to change anything.

The actual tests, of course, are not open to scrutiny but just another thing to think of as you hear that constant barrage about poor standards and failing schools.

The corporations themselves have little incentive to actually CARE what the right answers are.

[elleng]

1. FLORIDIANS, GET YOUR CHILDREN AWAY FROM YOUR SCHOOLS!!!!

[Liberty Belle]

13. What can we expect in a state that can't figure out how to vote on butterfly ballots

or push through those hanging chads?

Not to mention electing morons like Jeb Bush and sticking the nation with his brother, dumber-than-dirt George W.

[NYC_SKP]

2. Failed

Schools. Everywhere, especially Florida.

Holy shit.

[elleng]

3. Really, SKP.

What's a future grandmother to do???

[NYC_SKP]

5. Don't ever give up, go in person and talk to various school admins, county offices of ed, etc...

I've discovered that there are sometimes good programs seemingly hidden within schools and districts or operated by counties or other agencies that have marvelous teachers.

And if that doesn't turn up anything, then look into charters or private schools, or even parochial if that fits.

But don't ever settle for less or wait around for meaningful reform, your grandchildren cannot wait!

Take care!

[elleng]

6. Not born yet,

and daughters went to both private and parochial, but don't know what they'll be able to afford. Both daughters VERY aware, as they're natural teachers and younger actually studied SPED; not finishing her degree, but teaching and sitting for friends and neighbors now as she's aware of awfulness of curricula and dealing with administrations.

NOT WAITING for reform; won't happen, imo. Have to find the right places, MD and NJ.

[Fumesucker]

9. Parochial schools in Florida are very likely to be of the Christian Academy variety..

In other words, fundies..

Do you think their science education is going to be either thorough or rigorous?

[NYC_SKP]

10. Not all church/temple/yeshiva/other programs are fundy.

Leave no stone unturned.

[Fumesucker]

11. I didn't say they were...

I know Florida pretty well though, among other things my daughter was born there..

[russspeakeasy]

4. Here in Floriduh, we don't care what the questions are.

We have a selection of 6 answers:

no
obama did it
i'm not racist
guns don't kill people
because the bible says so
obama hates white people

[saras]

7. If I had kids in a school like this, I'd likely be in jail for defending them

Last edited Tue Apr 17, 2012, 12:44 AM - Edit history (1)

WTF is with people who will TOLERATE this in their kids' schools?

The tests ARE open to scrutiny because SOMEONE needs to be scarfing copies and releasing them to the public.

EDIT: ACK!!! It's even WORSE than I thought. They're not HARD questions, they are questions that the real world expects fourth and fifth graders to know.

The geology question - when I learned WAY back in elementary school, we had a glass scratch plate and a ceramic color streak plate side by side. Just a couple of years ago, in a college geology class (the real one for majors, not the general university one) had the same two plates side by side (with a few other identity aids).

It's not even a 'trick' question that makes you think - it's just deliberately designed to produce half wrong answers out for no wrong answers in.

This sample question offers the following observations, and asks which is scientifically testable.

1 The petals of red roses are softer than the petals of yellow roses.
2 The song of a mockingbird is prettier than the song of a cardinal.
3 Orange blossoms give off a sweeter smell than gardenia flowers.
4 Sunflowers with larger petals attract more bees than sunflowers with smaller petals.

Hardness - testable
Prettier - not testable
Sweeter - chemical, hard, maybe, maybe not, because a 'sweet' smell is partly subjective.
Quantity - testable

Another question obviously designed to produce wrong answers for the statistics, no matter how good the kids are. All his examples are like that. They're not incompetent questions. In "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman", there's a chapter called Judging Books By Their Covers where he talks about trying to review math and science books. He has a lot of examples of incompetent questions, or, as he says, "Everything was written by somebody who didn't know what the hell he was talking about, so it was a little bit wrong, always!" But never questions that guaranteed a high proportion of wrong answers regardless of the quality of the student.

The other interesting thing about these bogus tests is that
A. the only possible way for a school to get good grades is to cheat - to have the right answers to study for
B. because of this, even a small amount of cheating is easily visible - only to those who can do statistics on the dataset.

[Fumesucker]

8. Answers, ten cents..

Pertinent answers, one dollar.

Correct answers, ten dollars.

Now if you're a corporate executive obliged to maximize shareholder value, which answers are you going to pick?

Keep in mind that probably only one person in a hundred will even notice the difference..

[NYC_SKP]

15. Test creators aren't the brightest in the bunch...

[FarCenter]

18. Strongest force on earth?

Would that be gluon exchange that binds quarks into subatomic particles?

Kid are supposed to know this?

[Liberty Belle]

12. Sue them. A judge may care about the truth,

and make the bastards pay to redo all those phony tests.

Public protest is effective too. Organize parents with protest signs to dog school administrators and Florida Education officials everyplace they go.

[muriel_volestrangler]

14. Really tough on any child with extra curiosity who watches a TV science program

An excuse made by the official was

Similarly with option 3, students are not going to know what a gas chromatograph is or how it works. How a gas chromatograph works is far beyond a 5th grade understanding and is not covered by the benchmarks. ... We cannot assume that student saw a TV show or read an article.

OK, they may not get taught about a gas chromatograph by 5th grade; but all they have to do is see a TV program (wouldn't need to be high-brow, either - "The Science Behind CSI" would do it) and they'll have heard of a GC. No, they cannot assume a child saw a TV show; but they must not assume all children have never seen TV shows. Or find such stuff on the web. Or, God forbid, read a book.

There's actually a basic failure of logic by that official; they shouldn't be in that job. They're not fit to help educate children.

[Snake Alchemist]

16. And people wonder why private and charter schools are so popular. nt

[Pholus]

17. Not after that article.

Apparently, it took a long and determined campaign of misinformation and statistical lying....