Florida Department of Education Releases Buros' 2012 FCAT Writing Assessment Audit Results
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Florida Department of Education Releases Buros' 2012 FCAT Writing Assessment Audit Results
Tallahassee, Fla., June 5, 2012 - The Florida Department of Education today released the results of the 2012 FCAT Writing Assessment audit conducted by the Buros Center for Testing as part of the department's annual monitoring of scoring processes.The overall conclusion was that Florida's program "meets best-practice standards in state-wide testing of writing." The report stated that "In general, we believe that this approach to the holistic scoring of essays was professionally done and was in keeping with the best practices of the profession and of the assessment of writing in educational systems."
The writing audit was part of the department's ongoing process of assuring the integrity of Florida's accountability program. The department has contracted with the Buros Center for Testing, part of the Buros Institute of Mental Measurements at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, to monitor assessment processes since 2007. They began reviewing FCAT Writing in spring 2010.
Buros made two tactical recommendations in the 63-page report regarding the use of training materials and additional measures of inter-rater reliability, which the department will consider as they have prior recommendations.
The document is available on the department's website at http://www.fldoe.org/arm/.
About the Buros Institute of Mental Measurements: The Institute has worked for more than 70 years to serve the public interest and advance the field of measurement. By providing professional assistance, expertise, and information to users of commercially published tests, the Institute promotes meaningful and appropriate test selection, utilization, and practice. The Buros Institute encourages improved test development and measurement research through thoughtful, critical analysis of measurement instruments and the promotion of an open dialogue regarding contemporary measurement issues.