John O’Connor / StateImpact Florida Frances S. Tucker Elementary School fifth grade teacher Yaliesperanza Salazar. Math lessons are carefully designed to match Florida’s new Common Core-based standards. Florida just completed the first year of one of the biggest experiments in U.S. education. For the first time this year, every grade in every public school used […]
This spring, Florida students will take a brand new test tied to the state’s new math, reading and writing standards. This is the test that replaces the FCAT. It’s known as the Florida Standards Assessment, and it’ll be online. What’s on the test won’t be the only thing different about the exam. Students will also […]
When we sat in on classes at Miami Northwestern High School to report on the Million Word Campaign, one of the writers whose work was discussed was Sherman Alexie. Alexie frequently writes about American Indian life, including the movie Smoke Signals. Alexie also appeared at the Miami Book Fair International last year to talk about […]
Miami Northwestern High School teacher Daniel Dickey says there’s no silver bullet or secret book which will spark a student’s interest in reading. Instead, he says he asks questions and listens. “I sit down with that student and really figure out what is it that drives you?” Dickey says. “Why do you come to school? […]
John O’Connor / StateImpact Florida Miami Northwestern Senior High writing teacher Daniel Dickey says you have to be a good reader to be a good writer. He’s challenged his student to read one million words this year. Miami Northwestern High School English teacher Daniel Dickey has found a way to make his tenth graders brag […]
Jackie Mader / The Hechinger Report Laurie Langford, a second grade teacher at West Defuniak Elementary, helps two students look for evidence in a reading passage about public sector jobs. This story is the fourth of a six-part series with the Hechinger Report looking at how schools are preparing for the Common Core State Standards […]
The percentage of Florida third graders passing the state’s FCAT math and reading exams did not improve this year — remaining largely flat for the past three years — according to initial test results released Friday. Fifty-seven percent of third graders scored at least a 3, the state’s passing score, on the reading test. On […]
This story is part of a series from The Hechinger Report and StateImpact Florida looking at how Florida schools are getting ready for Common Core standards. Read — and listen to — the first two stories here andhere. It makes sense that Florida’s new K-12 math and language arts standards based on Common Core will […]
Florida’s plans to add computerized grading of its new statewide writing test could eventually eliminate the need for a writing test, advocates for the technology said. Essays on Florida’s new writing test will be scored by a human and a computer, but the computer score will only matter if the score is significantly different from […]
Florida school grades will drop by no more than a single letter grade this year after the State Board of Education approved temporary changes to the school grading system. But the issue revealed a divide among board members about the value of the state’s school grading system. Board member Sally Bradshaw said the changes would […]
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