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"Florida Abuse Test" Protest Gains Support of 1,000 Churches

This protest started with Bishop Curry. Now 1,000 churches have joined in.

Churches across Florida and the Big Bend joined Miami Bishop Victor T. Curry's boycott of the state's theme parks Wednesday to protest the
Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test.

The pledge of support came at the Florida General Baptist Convention held in Tallahassee at the Greater Mount Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church on Golden Street. The Rev. George McRae, president of the convention, addressed the dozens of pastors who gathered at the church.

"We saw the opportunity today, by the grace of God, to let history and everybody else know where the Baptist church of the state of Florida stands on this issue," he said.

The Rev. Joseph Wright, general secretary for the convention and pastor of Jerusalem Missionary Baptist Church in Tallahassee, said all 83 convention churches in the Big Bend will be joining the boycott. Statewide, he said, about 1,000 churches representing about 850,000
parishioners are participating.

"This is an issue that affects all of us," he said. "And we have to start looking at the long-range effect of the FCAT and to its validity."

Bishop Curry, who pastors the New Birth Baptist Church in Miami, said it's unfair that third-graders are automatically retained for failing
the FCAT reading test and that seniors can't receive a diploma without passing the 10th-grade FCAT. He called the FCAT the "Florida Child Abuse Test."

"We're not saying our children are not intelligent enough to pass a test," he said. "What we're fighting against is what is called high-stakes testing. ... One test should not determine a child's future."

Curry said churches that already have ommitments to go to theme parks in the state will not change their plans but won't return next year. Churches that don't have commitments to go, he said, just won't go.

Frances Marine, spokeswoman for the Department of Education, said the idea that the FCAT is a high-stakes test is false. She said the state
has taken many steps to help students, even if they've failed the test. She said one example is the summer reading camps, which remediate
third-graders and give them a chance to move on to fourth grade if they pass another standardized test.

"We really wish those who join the boycott would help us teach these kids to read instead of hurting the economy," she said.

Members of the Black Caucus were billed as part of Wednesday's program. Sen. Frederica Wilson, D-Miami, spoke at the meeting and said the state law requiring students to pass the FCAT needs to be changed. She has been a steady supporter of Curry's efforts.

"It is unconscionable what is happening to these children," she said. "And I appreciate the Baptist ministers of the state of Florida for standing with us."

— Andrew Dunn
FCAT Protest Gains Support of Local Churches
Tallahassee Democrat
July 10, 2003
http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/democrat/news/local/6269212.htm

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