TAMPA — Statewide scores on the Florida Standards Assessment showed modest gains this year, the Florida Department of Education said Friday as it released a large batch of results. Closer to home, there were gains and losses in the Tampa Bay area. Pinellas math scores were up. Hillsborough students dropped a bit in English. And…
TALLAHASSEE — Throughout Florida, parents of third graders who refused to take state exams are consulting attorneys about their legal options for fighting school districts’ plans to hold back their children. Florida law prohibits third graders who fail state reading tests from being promoted to the fourth grade, unless they are granted a “good cause”…
In their proposed rules on school accountability, federal officials are attempting to walk a fine and aggressively scrutinized line. They say they’ve tried to offer the meaningful flexibility to states and districts under the Every Student Succeeds Act that many say the law requires, while answering the call to make sure that all students are…
Five things you should know: Please tell me you watched The Bee Report: Progress and Challenge in Raising High School Graduation Rates “Maker Faires” are important for kids for their hands on experiences Monday’s nationwide bomb threats may have been swatting 11 states sue over Obama’s bathroom directive
The U.S. Department of Education has released a draft version of accountability regulations for the Every Student Succeeds Act that would require “comprehensive, summative” ratings for schools, but would not dictate or encourage states to set any particular weight, or a range of weights, for individual accountability measures. The proposed regulations, released Thursday, would also clarify…
ORLANDO — Gov. Rick Scott on Wednesday outlined a plan to increase public universities’ four-year graduation rates. Scott plans to lobby the state Legislature to fund merit-based Bright Futures scholarships for summer courses. He’ll also push universities to drop fees associated with online courses, which he said cost up to $100 per credit hour at…
At the end of the day Friday, Florida students will have completed the 2016 state testing season. “We hold our breath through the entire situation,” education commissioner Pam Stewart told the State Board of Education. But “this year’s test administration has been very successful.” Last spring, the Florida Standards Assessments and other state exams were…
Educators have long complained that state accountability systems that use only test scores and graduation rates to rank or grade schools oversimplify school success, confuse parents, and mask achievement gaps. Now, education leaders and lawmakers in states including California and Kentucky have said they want to toss one-size-fits-all school rankings and give the public information…
#FridayFive – Five things in education news that you should know 1st ever nation’s report card for Technology and Engineering Literacy Therapy dogs encourage students to learn to read Schoolhouse Commercializing Trends report out Data dashboard for accountability instead of A-F grade? Should coding and computational thought be part of k-12 curriculae?
Twenty-two local schools will get a piece of the $134.6 million pie that is school recognition dollars — an initiative that annually awards schools for achieving either an “A” or substantial progress on state-issued report cards. And while school officials will readily accept the newly minted checks, they also critique the program’s incentive methods, weighing…