April 2019

Dear Parents,

Last week I made the decision to cancel district-created and teacher-created final exams due to technical issues that could not be corrected in a timely manner. This decision does not apply to the following assessments: iReady, Florida Standards Assessment (FSA), state End of Course (EOC) exams, Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, Dual Enrollment or Cambridge AICE.

Given the decision above, I feel it is important “to do no harm” to student final grades for this year. Elementary students’ grades will not be impacted by the cancellation of these exams. After consulting with various school-based administrators, teachers and students, I have determined that students in grades 6-12 will receive the maximum value possible for the district final exam in the affected courses. There are students who were counting on this opportunity to earn percentage points that could make a difference in their grades. We will give students the full benefit of the doubt and the maximum exam score (100%) will be provided in the affected courses.

Second semester final grades in the affected middle and high school courses will be calculated as follows: The 3rd quarter and 4th quarter grades each maintain a weight of 45% to the final grade. The district final exam maintains a weight of 10% and maximum points will be given. The district final exam portion of the grade will have the greatest impact for students who are within a point or two of the next higher letter grade (for example: with maximum points on the district final exam, a student with an 89, B, average will advance to a 90, A, for the final grade).

Again, I am sorry for this change so late in the school year, but feel it is the right decision for both students and teachers. Thank you for your support and I look forward to a positive close to the 2018-2019 school year.

Sincerely,

Tim Forson
Superintendent
St. Johns County School District

Dear school district staff and school families,

After thorough review and monitoring, I have made the decision to cancel our District final exams. This decision does not include iReady testing.

During this first week of testing, we have experienced significant issues with the administration of the computer based tests. I am thankful for our District staff that have worked many hours into the evening trying to resolve the issues we have observed. I am also appreciative of the patience of school staff and students as we have worked diligently to improve the performance of the computer based testing system. Ultimately, I felt we needed to cancel the District computer based and paper based exams to remove the frustration of inconsistent test administration and protect instructional time.

Students need the opportunity to continue to learn each day from our teachers and be at their best for other required upcoming assessments. On the horizon are several high stakes assessments including the Florida Standards Assessment (FSA), state End Of Course (EOC) exams, and several other secondary exams such as AP, AICE, IB, and Industry Certification. These assessments are not done on the same testing platform as our district exams and I have full confidence in their administration.

We will be certain to adjust our second semester grading scale so that the absence of a final exam will not penalize a student. We will also adjust the student performance element of the teacher evaluation in a fair and equitable manner. As soon as an alternative grading plan is finalized it will be communicated to our teachers, parents, and students.

I am sorry for this change so late in the school year, but feel it is the right decision for both students and teachers. Additional communication will follow as soon as a revised grading plan is finalized.

Sincerely,

Mr. Tim Forson
Superintendent of Schools
St. Johns County School District