Florida School Boards Association
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Responding to the ongoing backlash about Florida’s standardized testing, the Florida Senate on Thursday passed a sweeping bill that would place limits on the use of tests in the state’s public schools. The vote followed two days of debate during which some leading Republican senators said that the state had gone too…
After weaving its way through several committees and hours of debate on the Senate floor, a bill to limit standardized testing in Florida was finally approved by the Senate on Thursday, passing 32-4. SB 616, sponsored by Sen. John Legg, R-Lutz, cuts back on statewide standardized testing and would completely eliminate the required 11th-grade Florida…
TALLAHASSEE — The Florida Senate took a critical step Wednesday toward temporarily suspending school grades in response to the outcry statewide among parents, teachers and superintendents who want a smoother transition as the state shifts to new standards and tests. The Senate added a provision to its sweeping testing bill (SB 616) that would require…
“It is not the critic who counts … the credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena … who strives valiantly…” Theodore Roosevelt It takes considerable initiative for citizens to respectfully yet boldly confront lawmakers. It takes courageous leadership for legislators to admit and correct costly blunders. But that’s what happened last…
A movement by parents to boycott or “opt out” of the new state assessments is small but growing, organizers say, especially on Florida’s First Coast. About 3,000 people have joined “opt out” groups around the state, said Sandy Stenoff, a parent who founded Opt Out Orlando, the oldest of the groups with 2,962 members. It…
After lengthy, sometimes confusing debate Wednesday over Florida’s testing and its consequences, the state Senate Appropriations Committee adopted a proposal that would change the rules relating to third-grade retention. Reports quickly emerged that the state where likely presidential candidate Jeb Bush launched third-grade retentions based on reading test performance was about to suspend the practice.…
Florida may allow third grade students to advance to the fourth grade, even if they perform poorly on statewide standardized tests. Read full article
A conservative Florida senator with a flair for headline-grabbing proposals could generate lots of support in the anti-testing sector with his latest recommendation. Sen. Alan Hays, R-Umatilla, has filed an amendment to the Senate’s major testing reform bill (SB 616) that goes to its final committee stop on Thursday, with availability Wednesday. His objective: To end…
With two weeks of computerized writing tests in the rearview mirror, Florida’s superintendents are taking a closer look at what went wrong — and what it means. They’re more concerned than ever that the results will be tainted. In a draft document circulating through district offices, the Florida Association for District School Superintendents raises six…
A day after the Florida House unanimously backed a bill to reduce state-mandated student testing, the Senate took a whack at the hotly debated topic. The measure that emerged Thursday from the Senate Education Appropriations subcommittee (SB 616) included the same goal of reducing the state’s emphasis on tests. But it differed from the House…