May 20, 2013
Florida Gov. Jeb Bush had some harsh words for people who criticize the Florida Comprehensive Achievement Test as being unfair to African-American kids.
The governor said "I'm sick and tired of hearing people saying that somehow some kids of color can't learn when we're proving it day in and day out in the classrooms of Florida, that it's not the case."
The governor's comments came as he released the most recent results of the F-CAT.
He noted that 41-percent of black fourth graders read at grade level this year, up from 23-percent in 1998.
For Hispanic students, the numbers have gone from 38-percent to 51-percent.
The new results show Florida students with improved F-CAT scores for every grade tested, except the 10th grade.
Tenth graders have to pass the test in order to graduate.
