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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 28, 2013

Why FCAT Scores Should Be Compared To More Than One Yardstick

The headlines last week announced that a higher percentage of Florida students met expectations on the state writing exam. But Matthew Di Carlo at the Shanker Blog says Florida parents and educators should look a little deeper into the results. Di Carlo explains how the points establishing the state’s 1 to 6 scale — known […]

May 27, 2013

What Florida Schools Can Learn From One Laptop Per Child

It’s family literacy night at Holmes Elementary School in Liberty City, and first grader Adam Redding is reading a poem about plants while he absentmindedly tips dirt out of a plastic cup and onto a laptop. In this classroom, dirt on a keyboard is okay. The green and white computer is a rugged little machine […]

May 24, 2013

Bennett Ready To ‘Drill Into The Data’ To Improve FCAT Reading Scores

Education Commissioner Tony Bennett is talking about today’s Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) results. The Florida Department of Education (DOE) released results from 3rd grade Reading and Mathematics assessments as well as FCAT 2.0 Writing for grades 4, 8 and 10. “While we have relatively static third grade reading and math scores, we think the writing […]

FCAT Writing Scores Show Improvement

The Florida Department of Education (DOE) has posted the results of FCAT 2.0 Writing and 3rd Grade FCAT 2.0 Reading and Mathematics assessments. Overall, FCAT 2.0 Writing in grades 4, 8 and 10 improved. Students don’t need to pass the writing test to advance to the next grade. But, the percentage of students scoring at […]

May 23, 2013

What Did You Learn In School This Year? Tell Us Your Stories.

It was a big year for education policy in Florida. The state changed high school graduation requirements, started phasing out FCAT with tests based on new national standards, expanded online education options and approved a one-time teacher pay raise. But as the school year comes to a close, we want to know: What did you really learn in school this […]

May 13, 2013

Recording: K12 Managers Admit Difficulties Hiring Certified Teachers In Florida

In 2009, managers at online education company K12 were having a tough time hiring Florida teachers. State law requires teachers are certified in their subject area and by the state. So when a K12 teacher saw her name listed on company documents as teaching Florida classes she had not taught, she asked her managers about […]

Listen To K12 Managers Explain Florida Teacher Hiring Issues

In 2009, teachers with online education company K12, Inc. were concerned about “water cooler talk” that their teaching certifications were used without their knowledge, including in Florida. Company managers held a series of phone calls with staff to explain the situation, including admitting that a teacher’s name showed up on a roster of Florida teachers […]

May 10, 2013

Feedback Loop: More About Math Edcuation

Yesterday we wrote about a National Center on Education and the Economy study which argued students were learning a lot of math they won’t end up using in their career. And schools were not spending enough time on more fundamental concepts in elementary and middle school which were more likely to be used by workers. […]

May 9, 2013

Study: Schools And Colleges Are Teaching The Wrong Type Of Math

Community college students are needlessly assigned to remedial math classes to learn lessons they won’t use during their studies, according to new research from a Washington, D.C. group. And the study also found that many high school graduates are not learning subjects they will need to use in their careers. The study was produced by […]

May 8, 2013

Newsweek: Florida Boasts 115 Of The Nation’s Best Public High Schools

More than 100 Florida public high schools are among America’s best — including the second-best high school in the country — according to Newsweek. The magazine ranks the country’s top 2,000 public high schools each year. Newsweek says the winners are “those that have proven to be most effective in turning out college-ready grads.” The […]

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