By now, most Florida parents have heard the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test is on its way out. But they might not know a whole lot about what’s replacing the FCAT. The most likely replacement is known as PARCC, or the Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers. Students are scheduled to begin […]

Update: It’s deja vu in the Florida Senate, where the parent trigger bill has gone down to defeat for the second year in a row on a 20-20 tie vote. The bill was expected to pass this year thanks to a new makeup in the Senate and some amendments that watered down the original version. […]

Tim Curtis says the federal government doesn’t have a record of getting things done. It’s why the Tampa resident is concerned the federal Department of Education offered grants to states adopting new math and English standards known as Common Core. Earlier this month, 150 members of the Tampa 9/12 Project – a group which shares […]

A mom of four from Mount Dora is doing her best to convince Florida lawmakers to slow down the Common Core train. Florida is scheduled to complete the transition to the new academic standards in time for the 2014-15 school year. Patricia Sullivan home schools her kids and is concerned about the changes home school […]

Dozens of protesters fanned out at the Capitol yesterday, trying to convince lawmakers to put the brakes on Common Core State Standards. A coalition of groups working under the moniker Floridians Against Common Core Education is organizing rallies opposing the new teaching standards that are being phased in nationwide. Florida is on schedule to complete […]

Florida is working toward full implementation of Common Core State Standards by the 2014-15 school year. The standards set benchmarks for each grade level. And instead of learning a little bit about a lot of things, students will be expected to absorb a lot of information about fewer subjects. Education Commissioner Tony Bennett says Florida’s […]

The Florida Education Association and National Education Association filed a federal lawsuit today challenging the constitutionality of Florida’s teacher evaluation system. The system was created under a law passed in 2011 known as Senate Bill 736. State law requires school districts base at least 40 percent of a teacher’s evaluation on student Florida Comprehensive Assessment […]

Education Commissioner Tony Bennett will update State Board of Education members today on Florida’s progress toward meeting 2014 deadlines for new standards and testing. Lawmakers have said they are concerned Florida schools won’t have Internet infrastructure or computer equipment ready for the testing, scheduled to begin in the spring of 2015. Bennett has also said […]

Will Florida need a ‘Plan B’ test for new standards set to hit state schools in 2014? And if not, will school have the computers and bandwidth necessary for the online tests? That’s just one item on tomorrow’s State Board of Education agenda. Education Commissioner Tony Bennett has already said he’ll be updating progress on […]

Senators said they changed a key provision in the session’s most controversial education bill on the advice of Education Commissioner Tony Bennett. Thursday a Senate panel approved the Parent Empowerment in Education bill, better known as the parent trigger bill. Members altered the bill to conform with the House version, which has already been approved […]