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What Florida Data Say About The Effect Teachers Have On Math And Reading

Fabric based on the Dick and Jane reading instruction series.

The New York Times takes a look at why teachers have a tougher time improving reading performance than math performance. In part, it’s because math lessons are more discrete. A quiz can tell you which math concepts a student is having problems with, as a teacher notes in the story. But reading builds on many [...]

Why FCAT Scores Should Be Compared To More Than One Yardstick

Researcher Matthew Di Carlo takes a second look at just how much improvement there was on Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test writing scores this year.

The headlines last week announced that a higher percentage of Florida students met expectations on the state writing exam. But Matthew Di Carlo at the Shanker Blog says Florida parents and educators should look a little deeper into the results. Di Carlo explains how the points establishing the state’s 1 to 6 scale — known [...]

Florida Teachers Will Attend Summer Camp For Common Core Standards

Florida teachers and school administrators will get help this summer understanding how to implement Common Core State Standards. The new standards are designed to make sure high school graduates are adequately prepared for college or the workforce. The standards are based on international benchmarks at each grade level. Common Core assessments will be given at [...]

State Review Finds K12 Teacher Certification Problems

K12 is the nation's largest online education company and served Florida students in 43 school districts.

An inquiry by the Florida Department of Education’s Inspector General found that online educator K12 Inc. employed three teachers in Florida who lacked proper certification to teach some subjects, according to a draft report. Virginia-based K12 is the nation’s largest operator of online schools. K12 operates in 43 Florida school districts, including in Miami-Dade, Broward, [...]

Read The Florida Department of Education Investigator’s Report On K12, Inc.

A series of emails led Seminole County school officials to question K12's teachers.

Below is the draft report from the Florida Department of Education inspector general. The agency was asked to investigate whether K12, Inc. was using properly certified teachers in Seminole County. The report finds no evidence that the company used teachers lacking Florida certification. But the report found the company did use three teachers who were [...]

Read K12, Inc. and Seminole County Schools’ Response To State Investigation

Attorneys for K12, Inc. and Seminole County schools have responded to a preliminary report by a Florida Department of Education investigator.

The Florida Department of Education inspector general has released a draft report in its investigation of online education firm K12, Inc. The agency was asked to investigate whether K12, Inc. was using properly certified teachers in Seminole County. The report (read it here) finds no evidence that the company used teachers lacking Florida certification. But [...]

State Website Measures Whether Florida Schools Are Ready For New Standards And Testing

This map shows how school districts are reporting broadband Internet access. Green districts mean at least 75 percent of schools meet standards. Red districts mean less than 25 percent of schools meet standards.

The State Board of Education will get an update next week on Florida’s next education standards, the Common Core State Standards. The meeting will include information about the technology needed to implement the new assessments that are scheduled to begin in early 2015. Florida is among a group of states developing the PARCC assessments, or [...]

Teacher Evaluation Data Can Be Kept Private For One Year Judge Says

A state judge has ruled teacher evaluation data is exempt from public records laws for a year after its release.

A circuit court judge has ruled that teacher evaluation data is exempt from public records laws for a year, denying the Florida Times-Union’s request seeking the information. The paper was seeking three years of the component data used to calculate teacher evaluations gathered by the state. The Florida Department of Education initially said in January [...]

Florida Department of Education Asking You To Evaluate Teacher Evaluations

Lawmakers are working on adjustments to the state's teacher evaluation law, including requiring evaluation be based only on students in the teacher's classes.

The Florida Department of Education is drafting rules surrounding the way Florida teachers and school administrators are evaluated. DOE is holding a series of workshops this week seeking input on the teacher evaluation system as well as the value-added model, or VAM. Teachers will be able to give DOE their opinions about the new system, which bases [...]

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