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. “If Florida lawmakers agree to the change, it would mark a major departure from a policy pushed into law by then-Gov. Jeb Bush who decried ‘social promotion’ when he campaigned for governor,” the Associated Press wrote.
So what exactly did the Senate panel adopt? Its language refers to how test results will be used in the transition to new Florida Standards Assessments (see the TRANSITION section of the main bill, starting at line 493). The amendment reads…
