Pasco Superintendent Kurt Browning joined the ranks of public education advocates across the state when he sent a letter asking Gov. Scott to issue and Executive Order to suspend all stakes attached to the 2015 FSA scores. Browning knows the Governor has the power to issue such an order. He’s no stranger to Tallahassee as he served as Secretary of State under Scott and Charlie Crist and filled various roles in Jeb Bush’s administration.
Browning wrote in his letter to Gov. Scott:
“Governor, you have sole authority to set the Florida accountability system ship back on the right course by issuing an executive order suspending the use of 2014-2015 FSA results for teacher evaluations and school grades.
Over the last few weeks, I have stood with superintendents and school leaders across the state to declare our lack of confidence in the FSA results. The independent review raised as many questions as it answered. Most importantly, there is no viable way to calculate student gains on the FSA as required by Florida law.”
Browning adds his voice to a diverse list of allied groups representing millions of Florida citizens opposed to using the deeply flawed 2015 Florida Standards Assessment (FSA) to grade schools and evaluate teachers. These groups reflect sentiments expressed by the Florida Association of District School Superintendents, the Central Florida School Public Boards Coalition, the League of Women Voters of Florida, the Florida School Boards Association, theFlorida PTA and the recent call to action made by Miami-Dade County Council PTA, Parents Across Florida, NAACP/Florida, Fund Education Now and the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC)/Florida
Advocates, please continue to take action and ask Gov. Scott to issue an Executive Order to suspend using Florida Standards Assessment for any purpose and pause the state’s entire accountability system until a thorough, transparent study can prove its components, including high stakes attached to testing, are good for public education.
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