I like to think there is some unseen longing inside all of us to understand our world and that this motivates us to engage in science. But I guess prom tickets, iPods, limo rides, and preferred parking spots might work just as well. That’s how some schools in Florida are motivating students to do well on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) science exam. 2008 is the first year that science scores will factor into the schools state performance grades, along with the previously counted reading, writing, and math scores.
Schools that perform poorly on the tests are less likely to receive extra funding and other incentives. And – surprise, surprise – many expect the addition of science scores to the equation to have a negative effect on already struggling schools.
According to an article in the Miami Herald, “If last year’s scores were an indicator, adding science scores to the grading formula may push struggling schools further under the failure margins. In 2006, only one-third of students across the state scored at Level 3 or above on the test.”
And from a story in News4Jax.com, “Across Duval County, if the new standard were applied to last year’s scores, the district would go from having four failing schools to having 17. By the same standard, the number of A and B schools would drop significantly — from 83 to 65.”
Two things I don’t like about this story –
1. Kids being bribed to study science
2. Schools failing miserably in science education
What’s going on? It seems to me that this is teaching the students that the school is the one with the stake in the results…In a sense they’re telling the students that by doing well on the science exam they’re doing a favor to the school, not a favor to themselves and their future…except that they might win an iPod.