Lawmakers are working on adjustments to the state's teacher evaluation law, including requiring evaluation be based only on students in the teacher's classes.
Florida lawmakers moved a step closer to requiring teachers only are evaluated based on the performance of students in their classes, according to the Gainesville Sun.
Currently, evaluations for teachers in subjects not tested by the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test are assigned a score based on the school-wide average. That means an art or music teacher could be evaluated using FCAT reading scores.
A 2011 state law requires schools districts to base at least 40 percent of a teacher’s evaluation on student improvement on standardized tests. Known as a value-added model, the complicated statistical formula tries to strip out factors such as attendance or class size to measure just how much the teacher has improved the student’s scores.
Critics say the evaluations have large margins of error and score can have large variations from year to year.
Lawmakers — most notably Senate President Don Gaetz — were not satisfied by the first batch of statewide teacher evaluation data and want to change the formula.
A House committee has approved a bill creating three types of high school diplomas.
The House Education committee unanimously approved a bill creating three high school diploma options for Florida students.
Students could choose from scholar, college and career and industry options. The scholar option requires high-level courses — such as Physics and foreign language — while the industry option lets students opt for professional training classes and certification.
The bill, H.B. 7091, initially raised concerns — most notably from Patricia Levesque, director of the Foundation For Florida’s Future — that lawmakers were lowering the bar for some students. But school officials believe new graduation requirements, which included passing end-of-course exams, meant more students would struggle with mandatory courses.
Those concerns had been smoothed over Wednesday afternoon. Levesque supported the bill. Education Commissioner Tony Bennett did as well. The committee’s Democrats and Republicans both voted in favor.
Students will take the new Common Core assessments online. The assessments are still being developed, and school districts are scrambling to get the necessary equipment.
House Speaker Will Weatherford says Florida needs to be ready in case the test accompanying new education standards isn’t ready by a spring 2015 deadline.
The standards are a new way of teaching – students will delve deeply into fewer topics than they do now, and they’ll have to explain their answers. It also means the end of most Florida Comprehensive Assessment Tests.
But the Department of Education is looking at a potential delay in implementing a new, accompanying test.
Speaker Will Weatherford said he hopes Florida won’t need a delay, but it might be necessary.
“There is a possibility that it’s not going to be ready for prime time,” Weatherford said. “So if it’s not, we’re going to have to have a Plan B. So I think it’s prudent of Commissioner Bennett to kind of have a backup plan just in case.
Patricia Levesque runs former Gov. Jeb Bush's Foundation for Florida's Future. She says the parent trigger bill is about giving parents a legal seat at the table when changes are needed at a failing school.
Supporters of the parent trigger bill held a briefing with reporters today near the Capitol.
The briefing was hosted by Patricia Levesque, executive director of the Foundation for Florida’s Future. The foundation was created by former Gov. Jeb Bush.
“It’s a provision that says that schools need to make sure students are assigned to effective or highly effective teachers at least every other year,” Levesque said. “Schools that are low-income tend to have an over representation of teachers who” don’t meet that criteria.
If private schools want to accept McKay Scholarships, Adam Emerson with the Fordham Institute writes, they should also accept some oversight.
Florida’s special education scholarship program needs more accountability, a school choice researcher argues, despite opposition from a coalition of schools which administer the scholarships.
Speaker Will Weatherford says the House budget will likely include $1 billion in additional funding for K-12 education.
Florida House Speaker Will Weatherford is a big proponent of nontraditional education.
Weatherford is pushing for an online state university in Florida, and he encourages families to consider different ways of learning besides district-run brick and mortar public schools.
The Florida Education Association – the teachers union – says of the parent trigger: “We need to invest in the classroom priorities that build a foundation for student learning rather than simply turning our children, our school buildings and our tax dollars over to profit driven corporations and hoping for the best.”
But in an interview with StateImpact Florida last week, Weatherford said he was shocked that anyone would want to defeat the parent trigger bill.
“All it does is give parents a say in making sure their children get a quality education,” Weatherford said.
He says he and his wife haven’t decided yet on schooling for their three daughters. His oldest, not yet in kindergarten, currently attends a private Christian school.
Here’s more from our interview with Speaker Weatherford:
Florida House Speaker Will Weatherford isn’t shy about pushing his non-traditional agenda for public education.
It’s based on his own life experience.
He’s in favor of options that are growing in popularity, like virtual classes and charter schools.
StateImpact reporter Gina Jordan sat down with Weatherford in his office to talk about his educational roots. He tells us why he supports legislation like the parent trigger bill and whether he thinks teachers will get raises next year.
The Coalition sent a survey to the 1,155 participating McKay Scholarship schools in February. It received 474 responses, representing approximately 40 percent of the McKay schools. Results indicate that 1) nearly all of the schools are conducting norm-referenced assessments of their students; 2) these education professionals do not believe the FCAT is an appropriate measure for their students with disabilities; and 3) 61 percent of the schools responding reported they would no longer participate in the McKay Scholarship Program if required to give the FCAT to their students.
The McKay Scholarship Program was designed so parents of children with disabilities would be able to identify and participate in programs that would meet the needs of their children. Many parents choose to participate in the McKay program because they do not believe the FCAT and a one-size-fits-all approach to education are in the best interest of their children who have disabilities and do not fit the “norms.” The McKay Scholarship Program has been very successful and popular with parents because it provides them with the ability to choose a school that best meets the unique needs of their children.
House Speaker Will Weatherford says he supports Gov. Rick Scott's proposed teacher raises, but he says local districts ultimately decide how to spend the money.
House Speaker Will Weatherford met with reporters at the Capitol late Thursday.
He answered a variety of questions, including one that has been plaguing him about proposed teacher raises.
Weatherford told reporters Thursday that most of the billion or so dollars being added to the House education budget next year will go toward teacher salaries.
But he said the law doesn’t allow state government to dictate how local school districts spend money.
“We basically write a lump sum to each school district, and then that money is collectively bargained between the union and the school board and the superintendent,” Weatherford said. “So we can’t really micromanage that process.”
The Blarney Stone at Blarney Castle, near Cork, Ireland. The stone imparts "the ability to deceive without offending" -- flattery would be a form -- to those who kiss it.
University of South Florida education professor Sherman Dorn parses some of the language — what he calls “blarney” in a St. Pat’s Day theme — surrounding new education standards adopted by Florida, 44 other states and the District of Columbia.
The standards, known as Common Core, ask students to know fewer topics, but to have a deeper understanding of those topics. The goal is that students will be ready for college-level work or a job upon graduating high school.
Dorn’s list has 10 items, but we’ll focus on two: Whether Common Core means the end of local control of education and the differences whether common standards will mean a common curriculum.
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