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Putting Education Reform To The Test

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No Child Left Behind

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Explaining Florida’s New Race-Based Achievement Goals

Is Florida setting the bar lower for black and Hispanic students, or higher?

The State Board of Education is taking criticism for a new five-year plan which local school officials say sets lower goals for blacks, Hispanics and other groups than for white or Asian students. But the plan also asks for more improvement from those same black and Hispanic students than their higher-performing classmates, something supporters say [...]

Three Questions About The Florida Education Commissioner’s Resignation

University of South Florida education professor Sherman Dorn.

University of South Florida education professor Sherman Dorn literally wrote (well, edited) the book on Florida’s education reform policies. So we grabbed him for a few minutes to ask what Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson’s resignation might mean long-term. Dorn says Robinson was put in a particularly difficult position and that Florida’s education chief is a [...]

Florida Officials Want To Remove Students With Severe Disabilities From School Grading System

Florida education officials are working to strip out a controversial change to the state’s grading system which requires students with severe disabilities to take the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, according to Education Week. State education officials and lawmakers approved the change this year in order to receive a federal waiver from portions of the federal [...]

Facing Tougher Standards, Florida 2012 School Grades Drop

Fewer Florida schools earned an ‘A’ on the state’s annual report card, while more schools saw their grades drop to ‘C’, ‘D’ and ‘F,’ according to state Department of Education data released this morning. Last year 58 percent of Florida elementary and middle schools earned a ‘A’ grade. This year the percentage fell to 43 [...]

How A Florida Program Is Fighting Learning Loss

We’ve heard about how kids tend to forget a lot of what they learn in school when they’re away from the classroom for a few months. But a Florida program is making sure learning doesn’t stop just because kids are out of class. A new report shows how afterschool and summer programs in Florida can [...]

Senate Panel Wants School Grade Changes To Wait

Sen. David Simmons wants more time to study proposed school grade changes.

Senate lawmakers have pumped the brakes on a Department of Education plan to rewrite rules for grading schools, according to the Miami Herald. School officials, parent groups and advocates for the disabled have criticized the plan, which would have resulted in 230 additional school earning ‘F’ grades. Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson and the Board of [...]

7 Questions About Changing Florida’s School Grading System

Got a question about how the state wants to change its school grading system? We've got an answer.

Florida’s Board of Education is meeting tomorrow to debate changing the state’s school grading system. The proposal has drawn criticism from educators and parents — particularly a proposal to include students with disabilities in the formula. Here’s seven questions about what’s being proposed, how it could affect schools and why it matters. 1. Why is [...]

Florida Schools Chief Says New Grade Proposals Under Review

Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson says the state may not include schools that specialize in students with disabilities in the new school grading formula now under discussion. “One simulation, for example,” Robinson said in a statement released Thursday afternoon, “includes grading all schools that serve students with disabilities; however, we are reviewing alternative options for schools [...]

Should Students With Disabilities Count Toward School Grades?

One of the strings that comes with Florida’s exemptions from some No Child Left Behind requirements is that the state needs to include more students in its school grade formula. This includes students with disabilities and those learning English. Lawmakers are working on a bill and the state Board of Education will meet next week [...]

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