On Friday, the Florida Department of Education released FSA scores to school districts and parents. This single standardized test determines advancement to the next grade, graduation eligibility, teacher pay, school grades and funding. For many, this is a time for celebration- for others, a time for concern. Regardless, it must be a time of reflection…
The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) was passed by Congress in the fall of 2015. It was a rare piece of major federal legislation that was truly a bipartisan effort- co-authored by a Republican and a Democrat. This law replaced No Child Left Behind and governs the federal role in public education primarily for elementary…
From WLRN: Under House Budget Plan, No Public School Funding Without Corcoran Education Bill By JESSICA BAKEMAN • JAN 31, 2018 A budget proposal that is advancing in the Legislature would make next year’s funding for Florida’s public schools contingent on the passage of Republican House Speaker Richard Corcoran’s chief education priority: a new voucher directing taxpayer dollars…
Governor Scott signed HB 7069 into law at a private, voucher school in Orlando. It was a fitting setting for a bill that funnels billions of taxpayer dollars into private voucher and charter entities with little to no public oversight. This bill was created by jamming 55 different education bills into one unwieldy, 278 page…
The Florida Department of Education released school grades this week. Across the state, districts saw their grades rise with the number of schools earning A’s and B’s increasing by 20 percent. 79 percent of schools that were an F a year ago saw an increase of at least one letter grade, including Melrose Elementary in…
Today, President Obama will sign the Every Student Succeeds Act into law. Earlier this week, the House and Senate overwhelmingly passed the bill which is the replacement for No Child Left Behind. The new policy will hand much more control for education decisions to the states. The bill, known as the Every Student Succeeds Act, replaces…
6 Things you need to know about the end of No Child Left Behind In 2007, Congress was supposed to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Schools Act (No Child Left Behind). Eight years later, it looks like they will finally get around to it. Yesterday, the Senate Education Committee, joined by more than a dozen House…
The Florida Department of Education released the findings of the state mandated validity study of its Florida Standards Assessment this morning. The study found the test to be reliable and it can be used to evaluate teachers and determine school grades. However, the report recommended that the test not be used for student level consequences,…
The 47th annual PDK/Gallup Poll of the Public Attitudes Toward the Public Schools is out. The poll, called “Testing Doesn’t Measure Up for Americans,” is the longest continuously running survey of Americans’ attitudes toward public education. Not surprisingly, this year’s survey shows that Americans want less testing for students and teachers and more funding for…
Earlier this year, the Florida Legislature passed a law requiring a validity study of the state’s new annual test that replaced the FCAT. The Florida Standards Assessment (FSA) was first used last school year and it’s implementation was fraught with technology problems and reports of flawed questions. Two different testing companies were hired and have been working…