Miami-Dade County Public Schools’ Physical Education Program named as a model program by UNESCO

Miami-Dade County Public Schools’ Physical Education Program has been named as a model program for North America by the United Nations’ Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in their case study report, “Quality Physical Education”. This publication was developed in partnership with the European Commission, the International Council of Sport Science and Physical Education, the International…

Which state tests carry the highest stakes? Florida’s at the top of the list

Hearing complaints that state tests carry too many consequences, the Hechinger Reportreviewed the stakes attached to Common Core-associated exams in 44 states and the District of Columbia. Its question was, essentially, how will each state use its test scores? “We found that very few states will be using this spring’s scores for any student-related decisions. And…

Latest glitches erode confidence in students’ online testing

Florida faces a confidence crisis in its annual testing program. Last week, for the second time in two months, the computerized system crashed, the result of avoidable vendor errors. The upshot has been heightened challenges to Florida’s 15-year-old accountability model. Parents and education advocates question whether the state pushed online testing before its time. They…

Miami-Dade County Public Schools slashes hundreds of End-of-Course Exams

Miami-Dade County Public Schools has eliminated nearly all of the 300 District-Developed End-of-Course (DDEOC) assessments that were originally scheduled for Spring 2015.  The move follows the passage of HB7069, a law that provides flexibility for districts to determine how to measure student progress, eliminating the state mandate for district-designated, end-of-course exams to be given in…