Experts: Accountability Spurs Improved Scores

LAKELAND | School report cards and the stigma surrounding low letter grades have helped FCAT scores improve in Polk County and the state, national experts say.

"Accountability attached to test scores motivates teachers to push harder," said Jack Jennings, president of the Center on Education Policy, an independent Washington-based advocacy group. "Without a doubt that is a factor."

FCAT scores in Polk and the state increased in every grade but one this year.

On Tuesday, the state released the 2008 Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test reading and math scores for grades 4 through 10 and science scores for grades 5, 8 and 11.

Outside experts were asked to evaluate Polk's and Florida's results.

Both Jennings and Marcus Winters, senior fellow with the Manhattan Institute, an organization that advocates for strong school accountability, said Florida's gains are the result of reforms in schools, primarily grading schools.

Sanctions that come with an F grade, such as restructuring or turning schools in charter schools, provide incentive for schools to work harder, the experts said.

Schools in Polk have felt those sanctions.

The district is looking for two new "executive principals" to oversee struggling schools that don't meet standards imposed by the federal 2001 No Child Left Behind law.

As many as seven schools are facing serious sanctions because they haven't met the federal standards. Principals at those schools would answer to the executive principals as part of the effort to improve academic performance.

The new principals would spend their time at schools that face the stiffest penalties and most changes, including Crystal Lake Elementary, Dundee Elementary, Sandhill Elementary, Snively Elementary, Wahneta Elementary, Boone Middle and Foundation Charter.

Hiring executive principals is an option for schools that cannot meet the federal standards known as AYP - adequate yearly progress.

Other states such as Illinois, Texas and New York grade schools but Jennings said Florida's letter grades are somewhat unique, more "clear" and that "you know what an A means, and you know what an F means."

Teachers spending more time on test preparation and students exposed to similar subject matter over the years are also reasons for higher grades, Jennings said.

[ John Chambliss can be reached at john.chambliss@theledger.com or 863-802-7588. ]