The following information was taken directly off of the school's website tamaracelementary.com. Also included you will find a link to the State Board of Education's letter which explains the changes in scoring more in depth. Please note that PTA is sharing this information with you, parents, because we feel everyone should be aware. If you have questions, please make sure to address them with the school.
Important News*
Teachers and parents alike have questioned WHY the BAT II score results indicated changes in Reading or Math scores to “Not Proficient” for some of our students and/or a drop in their child’s percentile (%) scores. To better understand “Proficient” to “Not Proficient” or % changes, you may find the following information helpful:
1. The FCAT 2011 Reading & Math scores were reported on the then existing FCAT scale using the “equipercentile linking method”. This method linked prior FCAT scoring rubrics with the new, and more rigorous, FCAT 2.0 New Generation Sunshine State Standards (NGSSS).
2. The September 2011 BAT I scores were calibrated using the older FCAT 2011 Scoring Rubric.
3. **After the September 2011 BAT I administration, the Florida Department of Education (DOE) convened two committees composed of up to 300 teachers, administrators, superintendents, and business/community leaders on September 20 – 23, and again on September 29 – 30, 2011 to devise a more rigorous FCAT 2.0 Scoring Rubric affecting Gr. 3 – 10 in Reading and Gr. 3 – 8 in Mathematics.
4. BAT II scores were aligned to the new and more rigorous FCAT 2.0 Scoring Rubric.
5. The BAT II scoring method is reflective of the newly adopted and more rigorous FCAT 2.0 Score Rubric. Teachers, parents, guardians and students have the opportunity to review areas of strength or weakness to better prepare for FCAT 2.0, April 16- April 27, 2012. **Parents and Guardians are encouraged to visit Virtual Counselor to see your child’s BAT II scores. Click on the purple link in each subject area to pull up a complete diagnostic review of each standard and benchmark tested. **Remember: You can access Virtual Counselor via the district website at browardschools.com OR BEEP. Please login as “student” and use your child’s date-of-birth (DOB) as the password. Remember: Birth date is written as month/day/year. The “/” marks must be included! An example would be a March 3, 2001 entered as 03/03/2001.
**Final Note: DOE provided the reasoning behind the REVISED FCAT 2.0 Scoring Rubric: It was widely perceived that the prior FCAT scoring rubric indicated “proficiency” within the Reading & Math Standards and Benchmarks for Elementary level students. HOWEVER, as students entered into Middle School (MS) and High School (HS) curriculums, students were not achieving the required proficiency at each grade level. To address this discrepancy, DOE recalibrated ALL of the scoring rubrics to ensure that Elementary level proficiency requirements aligned with MS and HS proficiency requirements, better ensuring that High School students would graduate “college and career ready.”
Click here to read the letter from the State Board of Education.