Gov. Scott Cuts One Test… Good Start but far from real change
Gov. Scott Cuts One Test… Good Start but far from real change
One down, 500 more to go…
On Wednesday, February 18th, Florida Governor Rick Scott and Commissioner of Education Pam Stewart released an investigation report on testing in public schools by Commissioner Stewart’s office. The report gave several recommendations including for the Governor to issue an Executive Order to suspend the grade 11 Florida Standards Assessment (FSA) for English language arts until legislation is enacted to eliminate the mandate.
While this is a small step in the correct direction, it is a long way from a major change. For example, the 11th grade assessment the Governor is speaking to eliminate is a test which teachers and district leaders have already been saying was wrong because the only real purpose was for teacher evaluations. Therefore, suspending it was the correct thing to do, but like most of these high-stakes assessment tests, it should have never been required by the State in the first place.
I have trouble applauding the Governor and legislators for having “lit this (proverbial) fire” and now expect us to be thankful for their willingness now to “put out this fire”.
What was noticeably missing from the report was the recommendations to eliminate the Value Added Measure (VAM) and tying teachers’ evaluations to students’ assessment scores. Until this happens regardless of what the Governor and/or the Legislature do and say it will force local school districts to be required to give assessment for the primary purpose of teacher evaluations.
For a list of the Citrus County Schools testing calendar which indicates the high number of mandated test visit: http://www.citruseducation.com/departments/research_&_accountability/2014-15_Testing_Calendar.pdf
Here are some additional articles about today’s announcement:
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