The Laboratory: Florida's Education Experiments

Background

If someone has a new idea or theory about education, Florida might be the state most willing to give it a shot. Florida pioneered school choice, voucher programs, testing both student and teacher performance and other reforms now considered nationwide.

Those ideas included the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, a statewide test of math, reading and science given to elementary, middle and high schoolers. The state introduced the second generation of the test this year. Those test results carry consequences, serving as the basis for school report cards and teacher evaluations.

Hillsborough County, which includes Tampa, is using a $100 million Gates Foundation grant to develop a new system to evaluate and train teachers. That system will be applied to Florida teachers statewide in 2012.

Florida voters also approved a state constitutional amendment in 2002 limiting class sizes — as few as 18 students for prekindergarten through grade 3. Voters reaffirmed the amendment in 2010, but lawmakers have exempted schools from some of the mandates due to budget cuts and growing schools.

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October 26, 2011

Three School Ideas Ohio Should Import From Florida

In the trade balance between Ohio and Florida, the Sunshine State usually imports far more than it exports. (Those imports are usually in Clearwater wearing Ohio State jerseys on Saturdays) But School Choice Ohio believes the Buckeye State should import some education ideas from Florida. The group released a Friedman Foundation report today that argues [...]

October 24, 2011

Can School Reform Move Too Fast?

Washington Post education blogger Valerie Strauss looks at the legacy of former Washington D.C. schools chancellor Michelle Rhee and concludes that Rhee left something behind in a rush to overhaul that city’s schools. While Rhee was pushing a controversial teacher evaluation system that led to hundreds of firing, Strauss writes, she did not address fundamental [...]

September 28, 2011

From Minnesota to Miami: The History of Florida Charter Schools

Charter schools are an idea dreamed up by an obscure education professor in the 1970s which have grown into a primary alternative to traditional public schools. One in 17 Florida students attended a charter school last year, a number that has increased almost six-fold in a decade. But where did charter schools come from? Like [...]

September 27, 2011

The Three Types of Florida Charter Schools

More than 500 charter schools were scheduled to open this fall in Florida and all of them fit into one of three categories. Experts say no particular type of charter school is more successful than another, but each kind of school has particular strengths and weaknesses. The original charter school model focused on local leaders [...]

September 26, 2011

A StateImpact Florida Series: Do Charter Schools Work?

Charter schools are championed by much of state leadership, including Gov. Rick Scott and Florida lawmakers.

For 15 years Florida has conducted an experiment in public education. The goal was to improve the entire education system by granting charter schools more leeway to innovate. Welcome to StateImpact Florida’s Charter Schools 101 series examining the effect those schools have had on students, teachers, parents and communities — and what comes next. One [...]

August 15, 2011

Merit Pay Could Mean Big Rewards for Florida Teachers

The best Miami-Dade teachers could buy a new car with their bonuses this year while most of their colleagues may only be able to replace an alternator with their bonuses. The difference in the size of those checks is an attempt to pay teachers based on their performance and that of their students, also known [...]

August 8, 2011

Jeb Bush Offers a Solution in No Child Left Behind Dispute: Look at Florida

Congress needs to reauthorize federal No Child Left Behind education standards, but President Barack Obama is growing tired of waiting. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said a month ago that the agency planned to issue waivers to exempt some states from NCLB requirements as many states claim a high percentage of their schools will fail [...]

August 4, 2011

Will Florida Cheat Too?

Florida is tempting cheating by basing teacher salaries on the results of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, Fred Grimm opines in the Miami Herald today. Lawmakers required school districts create pay-for-performance systems where at least half a teacher’s evaluation is determined by an FCAT score. That sets Florida up for the same type of systematic [...]

August 2, 2011

More Money Off The Table at School Funding Summit

Florida education leaders are meeting in Tampa today to discuss school funding, but do not expect the panel to endorse more money for schools. Roberto Martinez, the state Board of Education member who pushed for the budget discussion, said his goal is to brainstorm ideas that would help schools do more with the resources they [...]

August 1, 2011

Broward County Cutting Teachers While Other Districts Do Not

Why are Broward County schools cutting 2,400 jobs — mostly teachers – and requiring unpaid leave when other district proposed budgets avoid layoffs? The South Florida Sun-Sentinel has posted a Q&A about Broward’s budget problems. One answer: Broward could not sit on federal stimulus money like Miami-Dade or Palm Beach counties. “Both those counties set [...]