What Do Some Florida Students Do During Testing? Watch Movies And Play Board Games
Each morning for the last three weeks as teachers prepare to administer Florida’s standardized tests, scores of displaced students shuffle into the auditorium where the day’s matinee is projected onto a big, pull-down screen. Films include Disney’s Frozen, Fast and Furious, Life According to Sam, and — sigh — repeats.
The seasonal cinema — which one student referred to on Twitter as
“auditorium days” — is an unintended consequence of Florida’s
high-stakes testing program. The Florida Comprehensive Assessment
Test and end-of-course exams last for weeks and now require that
most FCAT and upcoming end-of-course exams be taken on secure
computers in controlled environments monitored by teachers.