DIRECT AND INDIRECT EFFECTS OF SELECTED FACTORS ON SCHOOL GRADES

Federal legislation, specifically No Child Left §Behind (NCLB), has been the driving force for §determing annual assessments in today''s public §schools. Since 1998, the Florida Comprehensive §Assessment Test (FCAT) has been administered in all §Florida public schools. This was predicated some §twenty years earlier when Florida became the §nation''s first state to require students to pass a §test for graduation. The increased use of this §standardized test served as a catalyst for the §designation of school grades in 1999 in which they §are based primarily on students'' achievement data §from the FCAT. School grades communicate to the §public how efficient and effective schools are §performing. Florida clearly leads the way in §measuring student achievement, primarily through the §measure of student learning gains; however, school §grades have continued to receive highly publicized §attention relative to student achievement. This §analysis could mean that changes in educational or §athletic policies are likely in Florida and other §states, as they continue to struggle with meeting §requirements mandated by NCLB.