Here's some of our favorite stories from 2012. More to come in 2013.
It’s New Year’s Eve and we’re taking a look back at our stories from 2012. Here’s a wrap-up of the best, most interesting or notable stories from StateImpact Florida.
Emails between K12 officials and teachers suggested the company had asked teachers to sign off on Seminole County students they had not taught. The emails raised questions about whether K12 was using teachers properly certified according to Florida law.
The national switch to Common Core standards will continue to be a big story in Florida in 2013.
We’re wrapping up 2012, which means it’s time to peer into the crystal ball for what’s coming up in 2013.
Florida’s new education commissioner is likely to be the big story, but Common Core is on the horizon as well.
Here’s what we’ll be watching for in the next year.
Tony Bennett – Florida’s education commissioner might be the nation’s most high-profile state post. The state is known as the laboratory for a suite of policies many states have adopted the last few years.
Gov. Rick Scott says students receiving private school tax credit scholarships should have the same requirements as public school students -- including standardized tests.
“There could be no doubt that Florida is already a major contributor to the world of online learning,” Chancellor Frank Brogan said. “Now we need to organize our efforts to devise a plan that provides a maximum return on investment in the future.”
The 2008 Florida Legislature authorized the formation of the Florida Distance Learning Task Force.
Back then, state leaders hadn’t agreed on definitions for terms like E-learning, distance learning, and online learning.
The Florida Department of Education released 2012 high school grades, part of the state’s school accountability system. The data includes each component of the school’s score and demographic data. Continue reading →
A Miami Dade program is using the iPod Touch to help 600 students learn how to read.
About 600 Miami Dade students are learning to read using an iPod Touch and an app which allows teachers to listen to and track a student’s performance — or receive help from tutors across the country.
The Innovations for Learning initiative started as a pilot last year in a handful of classes. It’s now being implemented in kindergarten and first grade classrooms in low performing schools.
The program combines teaching, tutoring and technology.
The students are using a digital program called TeacherMate to learn how to read with help from volunteers. The program is aligned with Common Core standards for reading in elementary school.
The grades were aided by a number of changes approved by the State Board of Educations. The board lowered the passing grade on the state writing test, suspended the penalty for schools whose lowest-performing students did not improve their scores and only allowed school grades to drop by a maximum of one letter.
This year 47 percent of high schools earned an ‘A,’ up from 31 percent last year. ‘B’ grades did the opposite — down to 31 percent from 47 percent last year.
“The school board and I are extremely proud of our teachers, students, and school leaders who work hard to meet or exceed goals,” Orange County superintendent Barbara Jenkins said in a statement. “We…realize that our high school grades next year may look different as we incorporate end-of-course assessments for biology and geometry. We are diligently preparing for Common Core and fully implementing the standards that help ensure our students are ready to compete in a global economy.”
Join us Wednesday, December 19 at 4pm on this site to chat online with reporters Sarah Gonzalez of NPR’s StateImpact Florida and McNelly Torres of the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting about the growing need for remedial education among Florida’s high school graduates and older students.
We’ll talk about how we got here and what can be done to fix it. You can join via Twitter by using the hashtag #NPRedchat or go to the WLRN website and type your comment or question.
One in two Florida students in 2010-2011 failed at least one section of the college placement test. Those students then had to take – and pay for – a remedial course in reading, writing and/or math.
We’ve already received comments and observations from teachers, students and parents from the Public Insight Network.
Tell us what you think. What should be the purpose of high school? Why are high school students graduating unprepared?
That’s today at 4pm with education reporters Sarah Gonzalez and McNelly Torres. Tweet us #NPRedchat or type your comment right on this page. You can login with your Facebook or Twitter account or just type your name.
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