John O'Connor is the Miami-based education reporter for StateImpact Florida. John previously covered politics, the budget and taxes for The (Columbia, S.C) State. He is a graduate of Allegheny College and the University of Maryland.
The average Florida graduate isn't ready for college-level work, according to SAT results.
Fewer than half of students who took the SAT last year scored high enough to be considered ready for college-level work — including the average Florida public school student who took the test — according to the test’s creator.
Florida scores did not change much from 2012. The average Florida student earned a 488 on the reading test, 486 on the math test and 469 on the writing test. Scores range from 200 to 800 points for each test.
Lawmakers created the university this spring after studying online options for two years. The online-only university will be part of the University of Florida and is scheduled to start classes in January. Supporters say the school will more access to a flagship Florida university, where 29,000 people apply for 6,400 slots each year.
The school will initially offer baccalaureate degrees in five majors and eventually expand to 35 majors by the fall of 2019.
UF Online will enroll both in-state and out-of-state students. School officials expect a total enrollment of 24,000 students by the school’s 10th year — 57 percent of students will be in-state and 43 percent out-of-state.
Online students will have access to the same support services as resident students, including health and wellness, personal support, mental health counselors and career advice. The business plan recommends online students will pay 75 percent of in-state tuition, or $112 per credit hour.
After the jump, you can read the full business plan.
Florida elected education commissioners until 2003, when a state constitutional amendment made the job appointed. Gov. Jeb Bush appointed Jim Horne as commissioner in 2003. Now, the governor appoints members of the State Board of Education, who hire the commissioner.
We asked Horne, a Republican, and former two-term elected commissioner Betty Castor, a Democrat, about the strengths and weakness of both models. Not surprisingly, Horne favored appointed while Castor favored elected.
“One of the advantages of the elected office is that the person in that office can target education and education alone,” Castor said. “And there’s no question of other responsibilities. It worked well when I was there. I don’t think that it was overtly political.”
Gov. Rick Scott has asked that Florida give up its duties managing PARCC's money.
Yesterday Gov. Rick Scott issued an executive order stating his desire that Florida ends its role handling the money for a consortium of states developing a new test tied to Common Core State Standards.
Summit participants had a chance to sign off on a version of Scott’s executive order condemning PARCC and declined.
That language appeared the first afternoon as the third of seven “guiding principles” submitted by Scott’s office as a starting point for discussion. It read:
New Education Commissioner Pam Stewart likely will find herself caught in the middle as Florida's schools chief.
The State Board of Education removed the first word from interim Education Commissioner Pam Stewart’s title last week.
But Board member Kathleen Shanahan had a strange question for a job interview: Tell me again who you work for?
“And I just want to make sure from Pam, that she understands – with full clarity – who she reports to?” Shanahan asked.
“Kathleen, I think that we all know that we serve many masters,” Stewart responded. “But, ultimately, this board is the boss of the commissioner of education and I am fully aware of that and understand that.”
Shanahan’s question was prompted by two years education commissioner turnover. Five people have served as Florida’s education commissioner since Gov. Rick Scott took office in 2011.
“PARCC is too expensive and it takes too long,” Scott said Wednesday, indicating he may issue an executive order about the test. House and Senate leadership have also said they oppose using the exam.
It’s difficult to argue that PARCC won’t require students to spend more time testing. Students will spend up to 10 hours a year on testing and some exams are twice as long as the current test. But PARCC includes more complex, open-ended questions designed to measure critical thinking. It’s up to state officials to decide whether that’s worthwhile.
But is it more expensive? Most analyses shows PARCC will cost about the same or less than what the state currently spends on FCAT.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott said Wednesday that PARCC will take too long and is too expensive.
Gov. Rick Scott may join House and Senate leadership in opposing a multi-state test tied to Florida’s new math, English and literacy standards and designed to mostly replace the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, according to the Times/Herald Capitol Bureau.
“PARCC is too expensive and it takes too long,” Scott said. “So I’m looking at a variety of things, whether it’s an executive order, some administrative and some legislative, to try to fix that.”
Scott also said he would try to address what he called “too much federal involvement” — an overture to tea party groups who consider the new benchmarks and tests an example of federal overreach.
Scott’s remarks came one day after state Board of Education members blasted him for failing to provide clear direction on the standards and exams, which will replace the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Tests beginning in the 2014-15 school year.
Sen. John Legg, R-Lutz, has posted the Common Core standards to the Senate website and wants to hear questions and complaints before lawmakers return to Tallahassee next year.
“Please contact me directly at legg.john.web@flsenate.gov with your comments, suggestions, or concerns on the specific standards,” Legg wrote in an email. “Because your participation is critical in the continuous improvement of our educational standards, I will be welcoming your comments from now through the upcoming Legislative Session.”
Board member John Colon said he wanted the continuity Stewart brings to the job. Florida has had five education commissioners hold the high-profile and high-pressure post since March of 2011. Board members praised Stewart’s experience.
Stewart steps in at a challenging time. Florida is trying to implement new math and English standards, known as Common Core, as opposition to the standards is on the rise. The state must also choose a new standardized test tied to Common Core to (mostly) replace the FCAT.
Gov. Rick Scott's leadership was criticized by State Board of Education members with ties to former Gov. Jeb Bush.
Two State Board of Education members criticized Gov. Rick Scott’s leadership on education issues Tuesday, highlighting a rift between Scott and former Gov. Jeb Bush.
Board members Kathleen Shanahan and Sally Bradshaw — who served as former Bush chiefs of staff — said Scott needed to show more leadership on Common Core State Standards and other education issues.
The board is meeting in Palm Beach County today.
Shanahan said Scott did not attend a recent three-day education summit held in Clearwater and did not take any policy positions following the summit. Shanahan said she heard rumors that Scott would issue an education-related executive order and the board had not been consulted.
“It’s embarrassing for him that he’s disrespecting the statutory integrity of this board,” she said. Shanahan said Florida education was in a “crisis,” which drew disagreement from board chairman Gary Chartrand — a Scott appointee — and interim Education Commissioner Pam Stewart.
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