by: Jeffrey S. Solochek| Tampa Bay Times
October 20, 2015
The Florida School Boards Association has formally adopted a resolution calling on Gov. Rick Scott to waive the use of 2015 state test results for school grades, personnel evaluations, student progression and other uses.
The group also built upon superintendents’ request for a full review of the state’s education accountability program, which several groups have questioned in the months since testing took place.
In its resolution, the FSBA urged Scott to convene a review committee to recommend improvements to the system, including proposed uses of collected data and ways for schools to administer tests without interrupting instruction. It reads, in relevant part:
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Florida School Boards Association calls on the Governor of Florida to establish a diverse committee, to include Florida teachers and district personnel, charged with conducting a comprehensive review of Florida’s assessment and accountability system and with providing a report and recommendations, including but not limited to recommendations on the appropriate components of the system, the appropriate use of data derived from assessments; an assessment of the capacity of districts and schools to administer the required assessments without interruption in the ongoing delivery of instruction to students who are not being assessed; a feasible timeline for the transition and full implementation of the system; and the appropriate role of the system with regard to personnel evaluations.
Read the full resolution here. See also the group’s newly approved legislative platform, which includes a proposal to use test data for diagnostic purposes only.
So far, the response from Scott and legislative leaders has not favored such ideas. The session begins in January.
Read article here.
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