Former Atlanta school chief Beverly Hall has a column in Education Week addressing her school district’s cheating on state tests. Her conclusion? Don’t blame the reforms.
“Should I have anticipated cheating, based on dramatic gains in test scores? With hindsight, I wish I had.
But there was every reason to believe that our dramatic restructuring would produce dramatic results, as it has. And those results continue to be confirmed by tests that have been independently administered and completed under the tightest security.
As awful as this cheating scandal is, it would be even more awful if we learned the wrong lesson from it. The culprit is not standardized testing or teacher accountability. We need both.”
Seven Florida colleges placed in the top 100 “Best Buys,” according to a Forbes list released this week, led by the University of Florida at 11, Florida State University at 13, New College of Florida at 16 and the University of North Florida at 19.
Those rankings could change, as the South Florida Sun-Sentinel notes, because lawmakers allowed colleges and universities to raise tuition by 15 percent a year until tuition reaches the national average.
Florida schools finished out of the top 100 in a separate Forbes ranking.
Yesterday’s story about a new requirement for the Florida Lottery-funded Bright Futures scholarship prompted a number of questions from readers, including how an illegal alien could get a scholarship in the first place?
Here are answers to some of those questions.
What has changed?
The new law changes two requirements for Bright Futures. First, students must now fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA form, which can be a tedious task asking parents to submit their detailed financial information. The most common way to submit the form is online, and to do so requires a valid Social Security number.
The second change is that students must fill out the FAFSA every year in order to obtain their Bright Futures. In the past, students only had to prove their residency when the state initially awarded the scholarship, and then it was renewed if the students maintained their grades.
President Barack Obama meets with members of Congress in March to discuss renewing the No Child Left Behind education law.
Education groups have spent $47 million lobbying the federal government through the first half of 2011, according to Center for Responsive Politics research, as Congress and the federal education department try to decide how to deal with the long-overdue reauthorization of No Child Left Behind.
The group reports that $3 million more was spent on lobbying in the second quarter of 2011 than the first quarter. Among those paying for lobbyists, the National Education Association teacher’s union spent $3.6 million.
President Barack Obama (left), U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan (middle) and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (right) at a Miami rally in March.
Congress needs to reauthorize federal No Child Left Behind education standards, but President Barack Obama is growing tired of waiting.
Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said a month ago that the agency planned to issue waivers to exempt some states from NCLB requirements as many states claim a high percentage of their schools will fail to meet its goals.
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is also weighing in — we told you about his Politico op-ed last week — arguing that districts that adopt reforms and show improvement should earn a federal waiver. Bush suggests a list of reforms very similar to those he pushed while governor and now known as the “Florida model:” A letter grade rating system; measuring teacher performance; and expanding school choice and online options.
A new law designed to collect more information on college students is having an unintended effect – it could prevent some undocumented students from receiving the state’s Bright Futures scholarship. And as Sarah Gonzalez of StateImpact Florida discovered, the new policy could also discourage U.S. citizens from applying for the merit-based scholarship.
University of Florida junior received a Bright Futures scholarship despite being an illegal immigrant.
Florida students unable to document citizenship for themselves or their parents may lose their Bright Futures college scholarships because of a new paperwork requirement.
Due to a change in the law, students who qualify for the lottery-funded merit scholarship must now fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA. Most students complete the form online – and a valid social security number is required for it to work.
The change has created a chilling effect among undocumented students and stirred debate over whether colleges and universities should be put in positions to scrutinize immigration status. Even students who are here legally say they’re afraid to fill out the form because it might tell federal authorities that their parents are illegal immigrants.
The single sentence requiring the FAFSA was included in a 71-page bill approved in May. It raises SAT and ACT requirements and community service hours needed to qualify for the scholarship.
Gov. Rick Scott has launched an August Charm Offensive, serving doughnuts to voters and attempting to build a relationship with state media. Scott stopped by WUSF radio in Tampa Friday as part of his three-day visit to the city.
Scott touched on the economy, the state budget and other issues, but was also asked how schools can add state-mandated programs such as teacher pay-for-performance if the state will not fund them? Scott’s answer: Find a way.
“We’ve got to figure out how to do better,” Scott said. “We did the things that should help our kids.
“We spend the money on instruction, not administration. That’s where the focus has to be.”
Isaura Konig (right) watches as her children, Paul Mamondes, 9, and Melanie Mamnodes, 6, test out an Acer laptop after Comcast announced the national Internet Essentials initiative at the Phillis Wheatley Elementary School auditorium in historic Overtown Thursday morning Aug. 4, 2011.
And Florida has one of the highest numbers of eligible students in the U.S., behind Texas, California and New Mexico.
In Miami alone, over 200,000 students are eligible.
David Cohen, executive vice president of Comcast Corporation, says Hispanic and African-American communities are expected to benefit most.
“When we look around the country we see the disparities that exist,” Cohen said. “Quite frankly people in lower-income communities, mostly people of color, have such limited access to broadband than people in wealthier communities.”
The program is open to students from K-through-12. But only to those that live in one of the Comcast service areas in 39 states.
Rollins College and the University of Florida top the list of Florida schools according to Forbes ranking of top colleges and universities, though no state schools crack the top 100.
Rollins ranked #133 while UF came in just behind at #137. Florida State University ranked #193, but finished ahead of noted institution New York University.
Massachusetts students have the best choices: Williams, Amherst, Harvard and MIT all cracked the top 10. The rankings were based on “quality of teaching, great career prospects, graduation rates and low levels of debt,” according to Forbes.
Fear not Florida, state schools still rank near the top of one annual list.
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