On Monday we explained the options Florida has in choosing its next standardized test.The new test is part of Florida’s move to shared Common Core education standards. Florida could stick with the Partnership for Assessment of College and Careers — or PARCC — one of two multi-state consortia designing tests for Common Core. Florida could […]

Florida school grades will drop by no more than a single letter grade this year after the State Board of Education approved temporary changes to the school grading system. But the issue revealed a divide among board members about the value of the state’s school grading system. Board member Sally Bradshaw said the changes would […]

In the next few weeks, the man in charge of kindergarten through twelfth grade education in Florida has to answer a multiple choice question: Which standardized test should the state pick to replace the FCAT? The new test is part of Florida’s move to new, tougher education standards known as Common Core. Students will begin […]

Two new states are backing away from next-generation standardized tests, this time because of worries about cost. Oklahoma state superintendent Janet Barresi, in a memo published by Education Week, says the state could save $2 million a year by developing its own test. Similarly, Georgia lawmakers are also concerned about the cost of a online […]

The State Board of Education has asked that a panel of school superintendents and other education officials to review the state’s school grading system and potentially recommend changes. Superintendents from Hillsborough and Miami-Dade schools said that they are concerned changes to the school grading system will mean a dramatic drop in school grades. The board […]

Florida shouldn’t have one group of students taking the next generation standardized test online while other students use pencil and paper versions, according to the chairman of the Senate Education Committee. Sen. John Legg, R-Port Richey, said students should all be taking the same kind of test. “I have some great reservations about having two […]

Three words reporters didn’t expect to hear during a conference call with state education leaders last week: Full frontal assault. The words were uttered several times in the midst of a 45 minute call about results from the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. In this case, the speakers were talking about Common Core State Standards – a […]

Advocates for new science standards are urging Florida residents to voice their support. The concept for the science standards is separate, but similar to that of the math and English language arts standards which comprise the Common Core. Florida, 44 other states and the District of Columbia have fully adopted the Common Core standards. The […]

The Florida Board of Education is meeting today in Jacksonville. The panel heard an update from Education Commissioner Tony Bennett on three strategic initiatives being carried out over the next year. The initiatives are part of a reorganization at the Florida Department of Education (FDOE) that involves analyzing every position. A lot of job descriptions […]

The Florida Education Association’s lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the state’s test-based teacher evaluations — if successful — could become a model for teacher’s union across the country, Governing magazine reports. And over at the Quick and the Ed, labor attorney Danny Rosenthal argues the FEA normally would have a difficult time proving the government […]