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Stories about students and the initiatives designed to improve performance. Are the many education reforms Florida has adopted having an impact?

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May 1, 2014

Testing Requirements Around The Globe

Florida students may not advance to fourth grade or earn a high school diploma if they fail a state test, but NPR’s Cory Turner reports the stakes are even higher in other countries. Starting at age 16, students in England take between 15 and 20 big exams each year. If they do well, they’ll get […]

April 28, 2014

How Florida’s Graduation Rates Compare To The Nation

Florida’s graduation rate increased by five percentage points between the 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 school years, according to new U.S. Department of Education graduation rate data released today. But despite the improving rate, just six states and the District of Columbia have a lower graduation rate than Florida —the same number as last year. The bright […]

April 23, 2014

Marion County School Board Reverses Course On Paddling Students

Marion County’s school board has eliminated corporal punishment of students — just one year after the board reinstated physical discipline. School board member Ron Crawford said public reaction to last year’s decision was overwhelming, Joe Callahan with the Ocala Star-Banner reports: The reversal was led by School Board member Ron Crawford, who last year cast […]

April 22, 2014

How Schools Are Deciding Whether To Purchase New Common Core Materials

Education Week takes a long look at how schools around Orlando and in Long Beach, Calif. solved a similar problem: choosing a curriculum for new Common Core math, literacy and language arts standards. Orange County went with big publishing companies. Long Beach schools designed their own curriculum. It’s a decision many school districts are facing […]

Schools Suspend FCAT Because Of Computer Problems

UPDATE: Education Commissioner Pam Stewart has sent a letter to Pearson saying she expects “a resolution and explanation for this immediately.” “This failure is inexcusable,” Stewart wrote. “Florida’s students and teachers work too hard on learning to be distracted by these needless and avoidable technological issues.” Read Stewart’s letter below. Original post: Schools are suspending […]

April 17, 2014

Meet The New SAT

The new SAT will take a little less time, focus on words students are more likely to encounter and have fewer answers for each multiple choice question, according to a preview from the College Board, to non-profit which oversees the college entrance exam. Changes to the SAT are particularly important in Florida, because the Sunshine […]

April 15, 2014

Bandwidth, Computers, Classroom Space All A Challenge In Online Testing

Having enough high-speed Internet and computers are problems as Florida school districts transition to online testing tied to new math and language arts standards. But testing rules have made classroom space and logistics a challenge as well. Pensacola News Journal reporter Michael Scott Davidson outlines some of the issues in Santa Rosa County schools: Wyrosdick […]

April 14, 2014

The Florida Tests Which Will Remain After The Switch To Common Standards

The final bell begins tolling today for the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. Florida schools are scheduled to complete the switch to new K-12 math and language arts standards based on Common Core this fall. New standards will require a new test. So Florida is switching to math and language arts exams produced by the American […]

Remembering FCAT, 1995-2014

The Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test is dying, say Florida education officials. By this time next year, the FCAT will be replaced with a new, Common Core-aligned assessment. FCAT was born in 1995 in the humid June of a Tallahassee summer. The Florida Commission on Education Reform and Accountability under Gov. Lawton Chiles gave birth to the test. It was part of […]

April 11, 2014

Hillsborough Superintendent Says District Is Ready For Medical Emergencies

Hillsborough County schools superintendent MaryEllen Elia is talking about what happened on a district bus when a child with muscular dystrophy stopped breathing and eventually died in 2012, now that the district has settled its lawsuit with the family. In a column written for the Tampa Bay Times, Elia notes the school district has 85 […]

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