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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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November 9, 2011

Conflicting Reports on Effectiveness of Charter Schools

The Florida Department of Education is touting a report that highlights the charter school movement. Research from the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools finds that Florida has eight of the nation’s top 50 districts for the number of charter school students in 2010-11. Orange County is the leader with a 42 percent increase in […]

November 8, 2011

USF Polytechnic: Five Pros and Five Cons for Independence

USF Polytechnic could soon shed the “USF” and become Florida’s 12th independent public university, but is that a good idea? On Wednesday afternoon, Florida’s Board of Governors is scheduled to talk about, and perhaps vote on, whether USF Polytechnic in Polk County should be allowed to split from the University of South Florida.

Five Differences Between Charter and District School Students

Charter schools are public schools, but the two public options have a stronger appeal for some students than others. Here are five differences between district school students and charter school students according to a StateImpact Florida analysis of Florida Department of Education 2010-2011 school year data. Charter school students are: More likely to be Hispanic […]

November 2, 2011

Five Things Florida Learned From the Nation’s Report Card

Yesterday we wrote about the National Assessment of Educational Progress scores, the gold-standard for apples-to-apples comparison of state education. Math and reading scores for fourth and eighth-graders were released yesterday. Here’s five things the nation’s report card tells us about Florida. You can check the results for yourself here.

November 1, 2011

Closing Florida’s Achievement Gap

Florida’s black and Hispanic students trail their white classmates by smaller margins than the national average, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress results released Tuesday. And Florida has been closing difference in reading and math scores between white and black and Hispanic students faster than the national average over the past decade. Eliminating […]

Florida Scores Flat on National Reading and Math Test

Florida students have shown little progress the past six years on a national assessment test, according to National Assessment of Educational Progress scores released Tuesday. The National Assessment of Educational Progress, also referred to as the nation’s report card, is considered the yardstick by which states can compare themselves and their progress over time. First […]

October 28, 2011

Feedback Loop: Anthropology 101

Our story last week looking at Bureau of Labor Statistics data in the wake of Gov. Rick Scott’s criticism of anthropology majors generated more conversation than anything else we’ve done at StateImpact Florida. Anthromajor, expressing the majority opinion, said the skills learned are not the domain of tweedy eggheads and translate to business: I am […]

DREAM Act-Eligible Youth Facing Deportation Is A “Fugitive,” Feds Say

Immigration officials say their decision to deport a Palm Beach College student is consistent with a new policy prioritizing the deportation of those committing crimes because a judge ordered the student deported as a child. That makes 25-year-old Shamir Ali a fugitive, said Nestor Yglesias, spokesman for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Miami. […]

October 24, 2011

Feds Will Deport Florida DREAM Act Youth Despite White House Priority on Criminals

In August 2011, the Obama administration announced it would prioritize deporting people convicted of crimes. That meant shifting resources away from low-priority cases—such as undocumented children who came to the U.S. at a young age, or DREAM Act kids, and others. One idea behind the new policy was to protect DREAM Act-eligible kids from deportation in case Congress were […]

October 21, 2011

Feedback Loop: Charter Schools, Higher Ed Salaries and College Tuition

Our continuing charter school series, higher education salaries and a lawsuit over college tuition drove the comments this week. Disallusionedinmiami agreed that school boards should get tough on new charter school applications. Do not stop charter schools, but question and ask for the highest degree of accountability. Some charter schools are only there is make […]

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