Parents Campaign to Take Back Kids' Summers

The creep of classes into August "is just one of the many harmful and stupid consequences of high-stakes testing," said Monty Neill, executive director of FairTest, a group critical of the use of tests. "People are experiencing one harmful consequence after another from the use of these tests. It steadily is ticking people off."

Indeed, Sturner, who gathered 8,000 online signatures in her lobbying effort, said that many parents offered additional complaints.

"I have gotten a lot of e-mails saying kids are facing enough pressure with homework and FCAT testing and the need to achieve, achieve, achieve," she said. "At least give them the summers."

School boards have moved up their schedules in recent years and have cut into August for class time, according to national surveys. The tourist industry has joined parent groups in opposing the earlier start dates, because so many of their businesses rely on students for summer workers and customers.

The issue has not been a controversy in the Washington metropolitan area, where most schools start sometime around Labor Day.

By contrast, schools in Seminole County, Fla., are scheduled to open the 2006-07 school year July 31.

Some schools in rural Georgia opened the current school year on July 22. Classes in some Miami-Dade schools began on Aug. 1 and the rest on Aug. 8.

Aside from yielding more days before the exams, educators say, the earlier schedules also better align semesters with the December holiday break and with the schedules for community colleges, where some high school students take classes.

But a driving force behind the new schedules for many districts is the testing.

"We make no apologies for trying to prepare our students as well as possible to succeed on the FCAT," said Ruth Melton, director of legislative relations for the Florida School Boards Association, when asked about the early start dates. "It is a high-stakes test that has repercussions that begin with the student and echo up through the school district and state level."

Noting that the tests are given in February and March, she said, "We're asking that a student get eight months of learning in 5 1/2 months' time. That has encouraged moving our start dates forward."

In Florida, each school receives a letter grade based on its test results. Improving schools or schools maintaining an A rating have received annual grants amounting to $100 per student, which are typically distributed as teacher bonuses.