Update: Emergency Rule Lowers FCAT Pass Rate

The passing grade for Florida's standardized writing test has been lowered thanks to an emergency rule instituted May 15, keeping the failure rate basically unchanged from a year ago, TBO.com reports.

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"The State Board of Education unanimously passed the rule today after preliminary results showed only about a third of students would pass this year," according to TBO's story.

That would have been down from 80 percent or better on last year's writing portion of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT), TBO reports, a decrease that came after the test was made more difficult.

The FCAT writing test is taken by 4th-, 8th- and 10th-graders.

Read more about Tuesday's ruling on TBO.com.