Relief needed from ‘educational reform’

I want to thank you for the editorial “State’s grading system misses measures important to communities” on Wednesday, Dec. 31. (Follow this link to editorial – http://www.chronicleonline.com/content/state%E2%80%99s-grading-system-misses-measures-important-communities)

The editorial was important for the public to understand and hear from others besides the school district. The editorial provided a better understanding of the challenges public school districts and educators are facing.

Further, I want to share how correct and appropriate the editorial challenged educators and school districts by stating, “No matter where the state moves the finish line, locally we hope our educators focus on this one important outcome: Once a student graduates, can they be successful in their jobs or will they be successful in college?”

It is essential that educators and school districts remain focused on true career and college readiness. Politicians will say this, and they have even passed laws affirming it, but as the saying goes, “talk is cheap.” Sadly the “educational reform” movement of the past several years has demonstrated the expectation of college readiness but not necessarily career readiness. As you have heard many of us state in the past, over and over, the Legislature and the Florida Department of Education must stop this movement that “all students must be college-ready in order to graduate high school.” This is hurting our students, communities and future, and is greatly shortsighted.

Beginning in 2010, the Florida Legislature passed, and Gov. Rick Scott signed into law, Senate Bill 4. SB4 put in to Florida law that all high school students must demonstrate through standardized testing that they are college-ready/eligible in order to receive a basic high school diploma accredited from the Florida Department of Education. In order for the freshman class of 2014 to graduate, they must pass the FSA (Florida State Assessment — formally the FCAT) in reading along with a college-readiness assessment (PERT); and pass algebra 1, geometry, a third math credit (typically algebra 2), biology, chemistry and/or physics. They also must pass another science course that is equally as rigorous as chemistry or physics and pass at least one online high school course. In addition, now required by law, for all high school (as well as middle school) courses that do not have a state end-of-course exam (EOC), students must take in addition to their final exams a Florida DOE-approved locally designed standardized test which must be worth 20 percent of the student’s grade.

The Florida graduation requirements for high school are now essentially the same as the entrance requirements for many colleges and university, such as the University of Florida.

When and where is the relief for our students, teachers and districts on this politically motivated “educational reform?”

While there are some encouraging signs of some relief coming, the people who are now communicating “relief is needed” from SB4 are the same people who introduced the bill. 2010’s SB 4: Education Accountability was introduced by Florida Sens. Thrasher, Wise, Gaetz, Richter, Storms, Peaden, Fasano, Negron, Altman and Baker.

Let us hope that the upcoming 2016 presidential election campaign does not set us back further as educational reform has been former Gov. Jeb Bush’s focus.

(The post above was taken from a letter I wrote to the Citrus Chronicle Editorial Board on 12/31/2014 and published on 1/1/2015 – http://www.chronicleonline.com/content/relief-needed-educational-reform)

Comments Off on Relief needed from ‘educational reform’
Filed under: News & Updates