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.
Education Commissioner Tony Bennett says he could recommend a new test in July or August.
In the next few weeks, the man in charge of kindergarten through twelfth grade education in Florida has to answer a multiple choice question: Which standardized test should the state pick to replace the FCAT?
“We have to get the assessment right,” Bennett recently said. “Whether that’s PARCC, or whether that is a different assessment system that other states are, frankly, looking at as well. If you were to ask me item number one next 30 to 60 days? That’s item number one; we have to make that decision.”
The cart East Allen County schools use to charge and reimage 30 iPads at a time.
Two education technology stories caught our eye today, touching on questions of the cost and support needed when schools provide laptop or tablet computers for their students.
The questions are important in Florida because lawmakers have required schools to deliver half of their classroom instruction digitally by 2015. Schools are also preparing for new online exams tied to Common Core State Standards.
“I would support a name change recommendation if brought organically to the board by the community,” Vitti said
The Florida Times-Union reports that community members are also open — if unenthusiastic — to revisiting an issue which has simmered for years. The Duval school board last took up the issue in 2008, voting 5-2 not to rename Nathan B. Forrest High School.
But Oklahoma announced last week it would not use PARCC and opted to develop its own test.
Barresi cited three big reasons for the decision: Cost; most Oklahoma school districts lacked the bandwidth and technology to handle the online tasks; and a desire to cut the amount of time spent testing.
Electronic devices, such as mobile phone or tablets, may be reducing kids' ability to focus on tasks.
Mobile gadgets such as phones and tablet computers may be eroding kids’ attention spans and contributing to a rise in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder diagnosis, according to researchers in this Time magazine piece.
That’s because mobile devices condition their users to expect constant, electronic stimulus. When kids put down those devices, the real world can seem slow-paced and less interesting.
From the story:
Researchers are reluctant to say there is a direct correlation between gadgets and ADHD, but there are strong parallels between the upswing in diagnoses and an increase of screen time. One important finding: children and young adults who overdo TV and video games are nearly twice as likely to suffer from a variety of attention-span disorders, according to a study in the journal Pediatrics.
“ADHD is 10 times more common today than it was 20 years ago,” said Dimitri Christakis, the George Adkins professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington in Seattle. “Although it is clear that ADHD has a genetic basis, given that our genes have not changed appreciably in that time frame, it is likely that there are environmental factors that are contributing to this rise.”
Part of the problem is the fragmented, action-packed nature of electronic media. Christakis found that faster-paced shows increased the risk of attention issues. The brains of children adapt to that speed, so when they’re forced to work in the slower pace of life, they often struggle to pay attention because it’s less stimulating and rewarding.
The Republican Party of Florida is out with a new web ad featuring teachers praising Gov. Rick Scott.
The teachers aren’t identified, but appear to have been recorded at the recent teacher summit Scott hosted in Tallahassee. Most of the teachers thank Scott for investing in education, particularly his push for across-the-board raises.
“I think Gov. Scott is a visionary. He’s a brilliant businessman,” one teacher says in the video. “What he’s done for the business world in Florida, I think he can incorporate that in education.”
Another says she feels teachers have the governor’s ear.
Miami-Dade superintendent Alberto Carvalho pointed to Florida Comprehensive Writing Test results as an example. Miami-Dade students scores rose this year, he said, but schools will get less credit according to the school grading formula. That’s because the state raised the target score from a 3 to a 3.5.
That’s difficult to explain to parents and students, Carvalho said.
“At stake here is the credibility of the accountability system — we have a chance to fix it,” he said. “Number one: Put in place and continue the one letter grade drop provision.”
P.G. Schafer, a Tea Party member, holds a sign to protest Common Core across the street from Marion Technical Institute where school administrators were meeting on Southeast Fort King Street in Ocala, Fla. on Wednesday, April 3, 2013.
Laura Zorc, an organizer with the group, says the goal is to convince the legislature to approve a bill which would delay Common Core implementation so it can be studied. Zorc also wants a study to determine whether the standards violate the state constitution or U.S. Constitution.
The hotel is hosting a national two-day training session on the Common Core State Standards.
Florida is one of 45 states which have adopted the English, literacy and math standards. They are scheduled to be fully implemented in Florida schools in the fall of 2014.
A new study finds Florida district school students learn more in reading than charter school students.
Seven days learning.
That’s how much more Florida’s traditional public school students learned in reading compared to students in charter schools, according to a new national study of charter school performance.
In math, Florida charter school students were even with their traditional public school peers.
The study updates a landmark 2009 review of charter school performance which concluded district schools outperformed charter schools.
This time, the average charter school students gained eight additional days of reading reading than district school students while math gains were even.
Florida State University physics professor Paul Cottle said Florida can't overlook science standards.
State leaders should not overlook improving science lessons while schools prepare for new English, literacy and math standards, according to a Florida State University physics professor.
Paul Cottle said the state is unlikely to bolster science standards if schools are struggling with the Common Core State Standards scheduled to take effect in the fall of 2014. Florida is one of 45 states which have fully adopted the standards. The standards ask students to know fewer topics, but have a deeper knowledge of those topics.
States are weighing whether to adopt a similar, but separate, cooperative effort to draw up new science guidelines known as the Next Generation Science Standards.
Florida science educators are rounding up support for NGSS. So far, 26 states have said they will consider adopting or have adopted the standards, but Florida is not yet among those states. The Florida Department of Education is accepting public comment on the standards now.
The Common Core standards and accompanying standardized test will be more difficult for students. If schools are already worried about students struggling in reading or math, Cottle said, they’re unlikely to raise science standards as well.
“So they’re going to do what human being do,” Cottle said. “They’re going to double-down on the Common Core. They’re going to try to focus their resources on improving students’ performance – especially the lower-tier students’ performance – in reading and mathematics.”
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