Florida end-of-course math exam results don’t count

Turns out that students who took the end-of-course (EOC) algebras 1 and 2 and geometry exams don’t have to worry about their scores because the districts won’t be counting them anyway. Meaning that students whose regular coursework and exam grades add up to passing marks can be promoted without regard to the 30-percent weight that state law requires for EOCs. The new state law, passed by Legislature and approved by the Governor not long ago, makes EOC exams count for 30 percent of a student’s grade. The Florida Department of Education (FDOE), however, announced last week that because of a glitch in the process, the exam results would not be available this year until after school grades were issued in June. In a memo to school superintendents across the state on Monday, May 18, FDOE public education Chancellor Herschel Lyons informed districts not to count the algebra and geometry exams, notwithstanding the new law. "School districts should calculate final course grades and make promotion decisions without regard to the 30-percent requirement that typically applies," Lyons wrote in the memo. "The absence of EOC results alone in these courses should not result in a grade of incomplete." Lyons explained that the reason for not counting the exam results was that an independent validity study of the exams that the state is supposed to conduct wouldn’t be completed until September, long after schools issue their grades. Therefore, for this year only, the algebra and trigonometry exam scores could be ignored, he said. The 30-percent requirement, however, would still apply to the biology, civics and U.S. history state tests, Lyons said. Biology, civics and U.S. history are older tests and not part of the FSA, as are the math tests, which were administered for the first time this spring. "Because of the unavailability of independently verified statewide assessment results in Algebra I, Algebra II and Geometry, the statutory requirements to include these results in the final course grade are inoperative," Lyons’ memo stated. Districts have the option of changing the course grades in the fall once the math results are available. Or not, if they so choose. If they decide to make the change, however, Lyons said the change "should be applied districtwide to all students for whom the recalculation results in an advantage."