The chairman of the Senate education committee has introduced a bill postponing the next generation of standardized tests until Florida schools prove they have technology and broadband capable of handling the computerized tests. Sen. John Legg’s bill, S.B. 1630, would require school and district information technology systems “be load tested and independently verified as appropriate, […]

The Florida Legislature convenes next week for its annual 60-day session. Education will be among the key issues getting lawmakers’ attention. The Miami Herald and WLRN radio hosted a town hall meeting this week in Fort Lauderdale featuring three panelists – Senate majority leader Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater; Senate minority leader Chris Smith, D-Oakland Park; and […]

The Florida Department of Education is drafting rules surrounding the way Florida teachers and school administrators are evaluated. DOE is holding a series of workshops this week seeking input on the teacher evaluation system as well as the value-added model, or VAM. Teachers will be able to give DOE their opinions about the new system, which bases […]

Students in math classes taught by the state’s highest-rated teachers made 19 percent more progress than the average student. For students taught by the highest-rated reading teachers, student scores improved 8 percent more than the average student. Students of the lowest-rated reading teacher’s made 36 percent less progress than the average student. While students of […]

The Florida Board of Governors has approved a plan to add online learning options in the State University System. The board’s strategic planning committee has been taking testimony and working with those with a stake in the decision for more than a year on how Florida should expand online learning. The plan doesn’t include a […]

Two civil right groups have teamed up to write resolutions against the proposed Parent Empowerment in Education bill in Florida. The bill — best known as the “parent trigger” — passed the Florida House last year but failed on a tie vote in the Senate on the final day of the legislative session. Legislative leaders […]

Lawmakers in Tennessee are growing skeptical of an online school run by K12 Inc., the nation’s largest online education company. That’s according to a piece by Tennessee reporter Blake Farmer broadcast on NPR Tuesday. Just 16 percent of K12’s 3,200 students in kindergarten through 8th grade met state standards in math. The company is also […]

Teachers shouldn’t expect an apples-to-apples comparison when looking at new state-required evaluation scores. That’s because evaluations will vary — not just between charter schools and regular public schools — but between public school districts. Mike Kooi, Executive Director of the Office of Independent Education and Parental Choice, has been trying to set the record straight […]

The way charter school teachers are evaluated has become a source of conflict for teachers and for lawmakers in Tallahassee. The question isn’t whether charter teachers have to be evaluated under state law – they do. Just like traditional public school teachers, they will eventually have to follow the standards set by the law passed […]