Florida School Boards Association
TALLAHASSEE | Student testing is at the center of Florida’s public education system. It serves as a way to assess student learning, evaluate teachers and grade schools. But as the public schools transition to the new Florida Standards Assessment, which replaces the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test this spring, lawmakers, educators, teachers and parents are calling…
DetailsDETROIT | A year after the GED exam underwent a massive overhaul — one that made it far more difficult but more in line with what’s expected of today’s high school grads — there has been a steep drop in people taking and passing the test. Preliminary numbers from the GED Testing Service estimate that…
DetailsAs the state Senate moves forward with a sweeping plan aimed at fixing Florida’s testing troubles, a House education panel on Wednesday took up another subject entirely: school uniforms. House K-12 Education Subcommittee Chairwoman Janet Adkins, R-Fernandina Beach, convened experts from four school districts to talk about their experiences with clothing in the classroom. Wendy Dodge, who…
DetailsTALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The “Information Superhighway” may soon be regulated as a utility – and that could mean better and fairer access. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler announced this week that he will seek to have the Internet regulated under Title II of the Communications Act of 1934. Whitney Kimball Coe, a program associate…
Detailsgroup of Florida school superintendents — including Orange County’s Barbara Jenkins — met with Gov. Rick Scott last week, asking for the elimination of some state-required tests and the freezing of school grades for two years. The 10 superintendents pushed recommendations educators across the state have been suggesting for more than a year, mindful that…
DetailsMiami-Dade school leaders say are concerned about a measles outbreak spreading across the country and urge parents to vaccinate their children. Superintendent Alberto Carvalho says vaccinations work and the district is tracking whether students get their required shots. Carvalho says 98 percent of Miami-Dade students have been vaccinated or are getting the shots now. “We’ve…
DetailsEven before the Lee County School Board elected to opt out of state mandated testing—and then reversed that decision—the subject has been a contentious one. With teacher evaluations in part tied to testing performance and some parents claiming myriad tests aren’t creating a positive learning environment, a new bill hopes to relieve some of these…
DetailsFlorida’s new low-key state legislative leaders offered a joint agenda Wednesday for the upcoming session focused on water policy, education and tax relief, presenting a firm conservative approach in a less fiery style than many of their recent predecessors. House Speaker Steve Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island, and Senate President Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando, are embarking on two-year…
DetailsThe Florida legislature is poised to make sweeping changes to the state’s standardized testing system and to the way teachers are evaluated. The Foundation which backed the system currently in place, says it’s pleased to see lawmakers giving the system a second look. The Foundation for Florida’s Future says lawmakers need to revise the way…
Detailsany given day, thousands of motorists illegally pass stopped school buses in Florida, authorities say. Determined to cut down that number, state Sen. David Simmons has introduced a bill that would increase penalties for what he calls a “significant danger to our children.” “This indicates either a rampant ignorance or a willful violation of the…
Details