More public schools splitting up boys, girls

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4. The FCAT itself is notoriously unreliable-

http://www.tampabay.com/news/education/k12/article1230178.ece

After conceding that poor communication with teachers could have contributed to an unprecedented drop in writing scores statewide, the state Board of Education voted Tuesday to lower the passing mark for the test.

But Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson defended the decision against critics who said it was a quick fix for bad test results. He said changing from a 4 to a 3 (out of 6) on the test simply "corrected the process."

"The results still stand," he said.

Just 27 percent of fourth-graders statewide earned a 4 or better on the writing FCAT, a steep decline from last year's 81 percent. Eighth- and 10th-graders had similar drops.

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Holly Wallace, a Polk County fourth-grade writing teacher, was one of several teachers who told the state board that they did not feel prepared to teach their students with the new FCAT writing scoring standards.

"We literally did not receive much information at all," she said.

Difficult to make an assessment on the basis of such a subjective factor as a high-stakes test where the parameters can change with literally no notice.