Florida

Putting Education Reform To The Test

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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, 2012

Report Says Florida Can Boost Economy By Getting Adults Back In School

Gov. Rick Scott has talked a lot about the need to improve education and increase the number of college grads with STEM degrees. From a business perspective, he thinks that’s how Florida will be able to compete globally and lure companies that will bring high paying jobs to the state. The Florida College Access Network […]

May 25, 2012

Feedback Loop: Parents Say Their Kids Are Fed Up With FCAT

As parents of 3rd graders grapple with the release of FCAT reading results — an additional 4,000 students are at risk of being held back — parents of students in other grades know how will it affect their kids. Many, such as Maldebot, wrote to say their children were discouraged. What can I do ? […]

May 24, 2012

How Many Third Graders Will Be Held Back for Low FCAT Reading Scores?

More third graders failed the state’s FCAT reading exam than last year — as state education officials warned. A total of 36,577 third graders — or about 18% of all third grade test takers in the state — failed the FCAT 2.0 reading exam, which is a new, tougher version of the FCAT. The year […]

May 22, 2012

Adding Up The Cost Of Florida’s Absenteeism

Yesterday we told you about a new study tabulating the often hidden cost of absenteeism. But it isn’t hidden in Florida, which is one of a handful of states which tracks chronic absenteeism. Florida considers students who miss 21 or more days of schools as chronically absent. Rural school districts tend to have higher rates […]

May 21, 2012

Explaining The Creeping Cost Of Missing School

As many as 15 million students are missing at least one in 10 days of school every year, reducing their chance of graduating from high school or college. That’s according to a new report from GetSchooled.org and researchers at Johns Hopkins University. At a weekend education conference in Philadelphia, GetSchooled and other experts cited three […]

May 18, 2012

More FCAT 2.0 Results Released

The Florida Department of Education has released more FCAT scores. The results are far less painful than the preliminary writing scores we saw earlier this week. The state announced results for ninth and tenth grade FCAT 2.0 Reading and FCAT Writing. Results from test retakes were also included. Some observations: 50 percent of students in […]

May 17, 2012

Student Documents Fighting At Pinellas County School

Watch Fighting Chance? Students Investigate Middle School Violence on PBS. See more from PBS NewsHour. A Pinellas County middle school student at student fighting in a high-quality piece featured by the PBS Newshour. The story was produced by 8th grader De’Qonton Davis about fighting at his school, John Hopkins Middle in St. Petersburg. With access […]

May 15, 2012

Board Of Education Takes Emergency Action On Low FCAT Writing Scores

Preliminary writing scores on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) have plunged, and state education leaders are taking emergency action. Standards were raised a year ago, making the test more rigorous. The passing grade is 4. The highest possible score is 6. So how bad are the results? 81 percent of 4th graders scored at […]

Explaining How the FCAT Writing Test Changed In 2012

The Florida Board of Education is holding an emergency meeting this morning to debate whether to lower the passing score on the writing portion of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. (Watch here, starting at 10:30) Results show the state passing rate plunged this year, following changes to FCAT writing last year. So what changed?

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