Dade schools investigate FCAT cheating allegations Dade schools investigate FCAT cheating allegations
A Little Haiti middle school is being investigated by the Miami-Dade school district after FCAT cheating allegations emerged.
The Miami-Dade school district is investigating whether administrators at a Little Haiti middle school helped students cheat on the FCAT writing exam, officials confirmed Wednesday.
For the past two years, educators at Edison Middle allegedly have given students an advanced look at the test as well as more than the allotted time to complete the test, according to witness accounts given to The Miami Herald news partner WFOR-CBS4.
A number of teachers, reading coaches and at least two administrators are among those being investigated.
On Wednesday, a school spokesman would not disclose details of the case.
Edison scored a 3.7 on its combined writing score last year on a scale in which 3.5 is considered proficient on the state accountability program.
The writing test includes a timed essay as well as a multiple-choice section that focuses on grammar beyond the basic skills.
Since 1993, students in the fourth, eight and 10th grades have been taking the essay portion. The more difficult multiple-choice section was added in 2005, and it centers on focus, organization, support and conventions to test a student's writing and language abilities.
Parents receive a scale score on their student's performance on the entire writing test, including both the multiple-choice and essay portion, and they receive a score ranging from 1 to 6 (1 being the lowest and 6 being the highest) on their student's essay. |