Superintendents to state: Schools aren’t ready for new tests

TAMPA — Florida school districts are ill-prepared to administer state tests this spring and should get a one-year respite from school grades, Hillsborough County school superintendent MaryEllen Elia told the State Board of Education on Monday. Her comments reflect what other Florida superintendents have been saying for months, and they echoed mounting public concern over…

1,000 New Reasons School-testing Insanity Must Stop

A front-page article in Tuesday’s newspaper contained a stunning number: 1,000. That was the approximate number of new standardized tests Orange County is debuting this year to keep up with all the demands of Florida’s education mandates. We’re talking about standardized tests for P.E. and band. For kindergartners and brain-damaged children. For cooking classes, debate…

Part 4 – Florida’s failed charter schools: Amid charter school successes, missed chances for change

Together, those parents cobbled together about 200 students, earning the faith of locals wanting to keep their kids closer to home. “We had no academic record at that point, and the finances were like hand-to-mouth,” said George Abounader, the school’s current and founding principal. Today, about 450 students attend the school, one of Florida’s best.…

Part 3 – Florida’s failed charter schools: Students fall behind at low-performing charter schools

NAPLES, Fla. — On the verge of seeing his charter school shut down because of academic failures, Archbishop Clarence Davis resorted to bargaining. In three out of four years, Davis’ Imagine Charter School in St. Petersburg received an “F” grade for academic performance from the state, results so poor they warranted closing the school. With…

Part 2 – Florida’s failed charter schools: Few dollars, little sense doom dozens of charters

NAPLES, Fla. — At the end of his tour of Cambridge Christian School, a private academy in northwest Tampa, first-grader Giovanni Scanio had a question. “How long will the school be open?” Giovanni asked, according to his mother, Lisa. Giovanni wanted to know because a few weeks earlier, in July 2012, the charter school he…

School board to state: Three-year switch to new standardized tests

Palm Beach County School Board members added their voices Wednesday night to growing opposition to state-mandated testing and its consequences, unanimously adopting a resolution in protest. The resolution was one of the actions board members decided on last week during a workshop. The two-page “Resolution on Accountability” details a long list of problems related to…