New York students are struggling with redesigned tests tied to new education standards adopted by Florida and 44 other states, according to the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. New York schools are giving the new tests for the first time this week. A common complaint? Not enough time: Initial reports from around […]
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 […]
A loose-knit network of education activists generally opposed to the direction Florida has been taking its schools recently is attempting to organize into a more potent political force. The groups include parents, people who want more state funding for schools, and others who are fed up with the brand of testing-based school accountability that Florida […]
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. Last week the Coalition of McKay Scholarship Schools said a majority of their members would no longer participate in Florida’s scholarship program for students with disabilities if they were required to […]
A coalition of private schools which accept publicly funded scholarships for students with disabilities says a majority of their members would no longer take the scholarships if they were required to administer the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. In a letter posted on the redefinED blog, the Coalition of McKay Scholarship Schools says their member survey […]
A bill moving through the Florida Legislature would require districts to post the testing schedule not just for statewide assessments like the FCAT, but also for local assessments. The bill’s House sponsor says some districts require up to an additional 151 tests, and many parents don’t know when local assessments are being given. Rep. Manny Diaz, […]
The Hillsborough County school district website lists 38 different testing dates for high school students. They range from Florida Comprehensive Assessment Tests and biology exams required to graduate high schools, to alternative tests for special needs students and personal fitness exams. Not every student has to take every test — those personal fitness exams, for […]
Third grade students will spend at least eight hours a year taking Florida’s next standardized test, while high school juniors will spend nearly 10 hours a year to complete the new online exam. A Florida 8th grader — taking the FCAT reading, math, science and writing tests — will spend 8 hours and 20 minutes […]
A House committee unanimously approved a bill requiring school districts to post standardized testing schedules online. Districts are already required to post the schedule for state-mandated tests such as the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. Schools districts would have to identify additional testing they’ve required. Rep. Manny Diaz, Jr, R-Hialeah, said districts would have to post […]
The chairman of the Senate education committee has introduced a bill postponing the next generation of standardized tests until Florida schools prove they have technology and broadband capable of handling the computerized tests. Sen. John Legg’s bill, S.B. 1630, would require school and district information technology systems “be load tested and independently verified as appropriate, […]
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