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by: Leslie Postal|Orlando Sentinel September 24, 2015 Florida should use paper-and-pencil tests until its public schools have more technology in place and consider national tests in place of much-criticized state ones, the Florida School Boards Association says in its proposed 2016 legislative platform. The association also said Florida should find new ways to assess students…
by: Paula Dockery, Guest Columnist|Tampa Tribune September 24, 2015 The results are in, and the conclusion is — well, it’s confusing. The long-awaited validity study of Florida Standard Assessment tests, as requested by the Legislature, has been released. And the conclusions are clear as mud. Without going into great detail, here is a quick summary…
by: Leslie Postal|Orlando Sentinel September 23, 2015 Florida teachers have about a week left to apply for a $10,000 bonus program that has exasperated many because eligibility hinges on their ACT or SAT scores, even if those college-admissions exams were taken decades ago. “It’s absurd to think that anything I did when I was 17…
Today is National Voter Registration day. Make sure you, your friends and family are registered. Don’t be one of the million of Americans with no voice on election day. If you don’t like the way we’re being treated by our elected officials, voting is the most fundamental way to make a difference, especially in state government,…
by: Marlene Sokol|Tampa Bay Times September 21, 2015 A seven-year effort to put better teachers in Hillsborough County schools is costing the system millions of dollars more than officials projected. And the district’s partner in the project, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is spending $20 million less than expected. The numbers, found in recent…
by: Leslie Postal|Orlando Sentinel September 21, 2015 Echoing the fears of his colleagues around the state, the Miami-Dade superintendent said the A-to-F school grades to be announced in several months will be misleading and unfair and the state should stop their release. Alberto Carvalho, superintendent of Florida’s largest school district, told the State Board of…
by: Jeffrey S. Solochek|Tampa Bay Times September 18, 2015 Florida’s education accountability system has lost credibility among too many Floridians to remain effective as-is, Pasco County schools superintendent Kurt Browning said Friday. Without changes, “I think it’s just going to get worse,” said Browning, the only superintendent to attend the state Senate Education Committee’s Thursday…
Florida public education advocates, you are making an impact! We used our voices this week and sent nearly 45,000 letters telling the Senate Education Committee that the FSA should not be used to grade anyone. Now an annoyed Chairman Legg wants us to “stop harping.” Dismissing the real concerns of parents and professionals by saying…
by: Jeffry Solocheck|Tampa Bay Times September 17, 2015 Wariness over a recent study of Florida’s school testing system reached a new level Thursday as state senators learned that Department of Education officials had input on at least two drafts of the document. Already doubtful about the study’s recommendations, senators suggested its impartiality had been compromised.…
Our children need your voice now. Please tell the Senate Education Committee that the flawed FSA should not be used to grade anyone. The spring roll-out of the Florida Standards Assessment was an unmitigated disaster. The Legislature’s own the validity study cautioned against using this test to decide whether children should be retained or remediated.…