{"id":1919,"date":"2013-06-23T11:09:50","date_gmt":"2013-06-23T15:09:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.flascience.org\/wp\/?p=1919"},"modified":"2013-06-23T11:09:50","modified_gmt":"2013-06-23T15:09:50","slug":"when-science-exams-go-bad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=1919","title":{"rendered":"When science exams go bad"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is a great article showing just how difficult it can be to fight for the right thing when you’re up against a resistant government: Fighting to fix the FCAT<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Robert Krampf\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s first e-mail to Florida\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Department of Education was cordial, even as he raised troubling allegations that poorly written FCAT Science exam questions could be grading students as wrong even when they chose right answers.<\/p>\n

In a gesture of cooperation, Krampf asked if there was \u00e2\u20ac\u0153anything that I can do to help,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and the well-known science educator (nicknamed \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Happy Scientist\u00e2\u20ac\u009d) signed off with his usual cheery closing of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153have a wonder-filled day.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Things got less cordial from there.<\/p>\n

…<\/p>\n

Among the problems Krampf found:<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 The term \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Germination\u00e2\u20ac\u009d was defined, in part, as \u00e2\u20ac\u0153the process by which plants begin to grow from seed to spore.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d That simply never happens \u00e2\u20ac\u201d there are no plants that go from seed to spore.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 A fifth-grade sample question asked how flowers would respond to light coming in through a window. The correct answer was \u00e2\u20ac\u0153the flowers would lean toward the window,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d but Krampf said it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s usually leaves (and not flowers) that lean toward sunlight. Also, Krampf found that one of the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153incorrect\u00e2\u20ac\u009d answers (that the flowers would begin to wilt in the sun) is, in fact, correct.<\/p>\n

…<\/p>\n

Krampf says it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s difficult to accept \u00e2\u20ac\u201d without any proof \u00e2\u20ac\u201d that the tests are completely error-free when the guidelines that served as their blueprint were so flawed. He also cites the heavy bureaucratic resistance he encountered in trying to fix the guidelines \u00e2\u20ac\u201d further evidence, he says, of state leaders\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 inability to police themselves.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know why they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re so afraid to admit that the stuff is wrong,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Krampf said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153But that makes me suspect that the same paranoia, and the same denial, is taking place with the actual FCAT.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is a great article showing just how difficult it can be to fight for the right thing when you’re up against a resistant government: Fighting to fix the FCAT. Robert Krampf\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s first e-mail to Florida\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Department of Education was … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pcZNLl-uX","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1516,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=1516","url_meta":{"origin":1919,"position":0},"title":"When right is actually wrong on the science FCAT","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"April 17, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Florida's own \"the Happy Scientist\" Robert Krampf notes some serious problems with the science FCAT. For examples: Sample Item 2 for SC.5.N.1.6 (page 32), which assesses the following benchmark. SC.5.N.1.6: Recognize and explain the difference between personal opinion\/interpretation and verified observation. This sample question offers the following observations, and asks\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 5 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 5 comments","link":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=1516#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":214,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=214","url_meta":{"origin":1919,"position":1},"title":"Why are science FCAT scores low?","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"May 24, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Low science FCAT scores (see previous post)\u00c2\u00a0were mentioned in many news stories yesterday and today, and a few even made that element the story\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hook. (\u00e2\u20ac\u0153But scientists they are not.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d) There is no in-depth analysis of the problem, though, that I have found. Mainly, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s all about reading, writing and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Analysis\/Commentary"","block_context":{"text":"Analysis\/Commentary","link":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?cat=4"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1059,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=1059","url_meta":{"origin":1919,"position":2},"title":"Op-ed: Is science education important to Florida?","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"June 4, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Earlier this week I submitted an op-ed column to newspapers across the state on behalf of Florida Citizens for Science. Today the Gainesville Sun ran it. The Sun even ran a political cartoon with the column! A couple of other papers expressed an interest in it, but I haven't gotten\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 1 comment","block_context":{"text":"With 1 comment","link":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=1059#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1201,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=1201","url_meta":{"origin":1919,"position":3},"title":"2010 Science FCAT and beyond","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"June 29, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"The annual Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test results are finally released. These are exams that students across the state in specific grade levels must take in core subjects. These scores can influence students\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 promotion to the next grade, and dictate what the student can or cannot take the next school year,\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 3 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 3 comments","link":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=1201#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":213,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=213","url_meta":{"origin":1919,"position":4},"title":"2007 science FCAT scores","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"May 23, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Florida\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s science FCAT scores were released today. For those who don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know, the FCAT is the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test given annually to all Florida public school children in grades 3 through 11. The FCAT is supposed to measure what students have learned about reading, writing, mathematics and science. The\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Alert"","block_context":{"text":"Alert","link":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?cat=6"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1585,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=1585","url_meta":{"origin":1919,"position":5},"title":"Science FCAT 2012, nothing new","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"June 5, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"FCAT science. Grades 5 and 8 (no more high school science FCATs with the advent of the Biology end of course exams): stagnant (pdf document, scroll all the way down to page 55 ... yes, page 55, heck, even the press release buried the science results.). Not much I can\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "FCAT"","block_context":{"text":"FCAT","link":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?cat=22"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1919"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1919"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1919\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1920,"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1919\/revisions\/1920"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1919"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1919"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1919"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}