Two Florida senators are calling on state Commissioner of Education John Winn to resign in response to their contention that many of the temporary workers grading the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test are unqualified for the job.
Democratic Sens. Lesley “Les” Miller Jr. and Walter G. “Skip” Campbell Jr. sued the state to obtain the employment records of the workers for Kelly Services, a Troy, Mich.-based staffing firm, who graded portions of the FCAT.
According the senators, fewer than half the graders possessed teaching experience or degrees relevant to the subjects that they were grading. The Florida Department of Education had stipulated that all graders possess a bachelor’s degree and be assigned to subjects closest to their areas of expertise.
Mr. Winn, who was appointed by the state board of education, said he would resign only at the board’s request. A spokeswoman for the state department of education said that beginning next year, all FCAT graders will have degrees relevant to the subject areas they are scoring.
