It’s the first time that “all states used a common, rigorous measure,” according to the federal agency.
Florida landed in the bottom 20 percent of states with an overall graduation rate of 71 percent in 2010-11. Just six states and the District of Columbia had a lower graduation rate than Florida.
Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush at the Republican National Convention in Tampa. His Foundation for Excellence in Education kicked off its national summit today.
The Foundation for Excellence in Education’s annual conference starting this morning in Washington, D.C.
The agenda hits most of the main policies former Gov. Jeb Bush has supported: How to make teachers more effective; school district accountability; charter school accountability; the parent trigger and funding; and what to expect from new Common Core assessments.
The conference also features a number of keynote speakers, including Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.
The Georgia Department of Education is threatening to close the Georgia Cyber Academy, run by K12, over concerns about special education services.
The Georgia Department of Education is threatening to close an online charter school run by K12, the nation’s largest online education company, over issues with special education students.
The agency issued a report last week that the K12-run Georgia Cyber Academy has repeatedly failed to comply with the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and has violated student civil rights by failing to provide services required by the law.
The school has 1,100 special education students, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.The 12,000-student school is the largest public school in the state.
The agency will begin the process of closing the school in April unless the concerns are addressed.
Research by a UCF business professor suggests these high school students from Pensacola outperform their charter school peers.
A University of Central Florida business professor and the Florida Department of Education have been swapping research the past week in a debate about whether charter schools perform better than district schools.
The Florida Department of Education (FDOE) has its own research that shows very different results. Generally, charter schools perform better than their traditional counterparts, according to the agency’s analysis.
Smith’s retort?
“It was like a poorly done, biased infomercial for charter schools,” Smith said.
“If one examines their results carefully, they are consistent with my findings, but they are misleading because the ‘study’ does not correct for income level in most or all of the comparisons.”
Adam Miller with the Florida Department of Education says a department analysis shows charter school students perform better than district school students.
Here’s more fuel for the fire in the charter school debate.
Student achievement data compiled by the Florida Department of Education suggests charter students are performing better than their peers in traditional schools.
That goes against research by Dr. Stanley Smith, a University of Central Florida business professor.
He found that charters perform worse than traditional schools when poverty and minority status are taken into account.
But state department of education data shows charter schools perform better.
The department is required to publish an annual report comparing the performance of students in charters versus students in traditional public schools.
The latest report for the 2010-2011 school year looks at performance according to grade level, subject area, and demographics.
In the near future, classroom textbooks could be stored on a Kindle.
As Florida works its way toward the digital transition in classrooms by 2015, a publication is questioning whether the potential health hazards are worth it.
Dumping textbooks for technology won’t be a problem for most students, who’ve grown up with cell phones and iPods.
Some adults, however, are having trouble with the change.
These parent and teacher groups say kids have their faces buried in video games too much as it is. They are particularly concerned about the youngest students.
The American Legislative Exchange Council will not oppose Common Core standards, a win for those supporting their implementation.
Supporters of new Common Core national education standards have won a battle within the American Legislative Exchange Council about whether to support or oppose Common Core.
But Bush doesn’t take those results personally — it’s about Indiana and Idaho and not Bush’s policies.
Bush says overall the results were mixed on Election Night, citing charter school wins in Washington and Georgia.
“Well it’s not my education agenda it’s the education agenda of the Indiana governor, the Indiana state school office, the Indiana legislature, the Indiana business community that Tony Bennett didn’t get elected,” he told StateImpact Florida’s Sarah Gonzalez.
Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush at the Republican National Convention in Tampa.
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush urged more emphasis on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test results during his two terms in office.
But Bush isn’t mourning the end of the FCAT when a new Common Core State Standards — and tests — fully take effect in the fall of 2014.
Bush says FCAT was never meant to test whether students were ready for college or the job market.
“The Common Core State Standards are higher; they’re fewer; they require more critical thinking skills,” Bush said, “and they will, unfortunately, at the beginning, they will probably show that close to two-thirds of our children are not college and career ready.”
Bush isn’t worried that Common Core hasn’t been field tested, and he trusts experts who say Common Core more closely resembles international standards.
We’ll pull out some highlights throughout the day, but you can listen to the full interview here. Full transcript after the jump and more next week.
Gov. Rick Scott and Senate President-Designate Don Gaetz.
The leadership of the Florida House and Senate officially changes hands this week when Rep. Will Weatherford and Sen. Don Gaetz are sworn in as leaders of their respective chambers.
Both Republican legislators have already been coordinating their committees and working on rules for the next legislative session.
Rep. Weatherford falls in line with Gov. Rick Scott’s agenda of promoting alternatives to traditional classrooms, like virtual and charter schools.
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