Foundation Says Florida Schools On The Rise

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The Foundation for Florida's Future is invoking Bill Murray, and that's the fact, Jack.

Foundation for Excellence in Education blogger Mike Thomas has responded to a post we wrote last week looking at the claims in a television ad running in Tampa. The ad references the state’s top 10 ranking in an Education Week survey, rising graduation rates and more students taking and passing Advanced Placement exams.

Our post noted Florida still has among the nation’s lowest graduation rate. Thomas argues Florida requirements are more difficult than other states:

Florida’s graduation rate of 75.6 percent is low compared to most other states. And we could increase that significantly overnight by simply waiving exit exams required for graduation.

The question then becomes: Do you dumb down standards and increase your numbers, producing graduates who can’t even read at a 10th grade level? Florida has found it can raise standards and increase graduation rates at the same time. This is a journey worth taking.

And Thomas lists a number of reasons why Florida’s policies to encourage students to take Advanced Placement exams are nothing but a success.

You can read the full response here.