Thursday, February 19, 2015

Florida Gov. Scott concedes that kids are over-tested, drops 11th-grade standardized exam - The Washington Post

Florida Gov. Scott concedes that kids are over-tested, drops 11th-grade standardized exam - The Washington Post:



Florida Gov. Scott concedes that kids are over-tested, drops 11th-grade standardized exam



Florida Gov. Rick Scott speaks Feb. 10, 2015, at Keeping the Promise: A Florida Education Summit, sponsored by former Florida governor Jeb Bush’s Foundation for Florida’s Future, at the Florida State University Alumni Center in Tallahassee, Fla. (Phil Sears/AP)
After years of calls by educators and parents for a reduction in standardized tests, Florida Gov. Rick Scott said Wednesday that yes, in fact, students in public schools in the state are being over-tested (such as in Duval County, where kids in K-5 take 14 assessments), and he issued an executive order eliminating one statewide 11th grade standardized assessment for English Language Arts.
The announcement by Scott was linked to a new report (see below) completed by Education Commissioner Pam Stewart, who recommended a testing reduction after doing an investigation into the number, frequency and purpose of standardized tests and whether  local assessments were assessed by state tests.
The Florida Department of Education issued a press release about the announcement, complete with quotes from Scott, Stewart,  Senate President Andy Gardiner and Speaker of the House Steve Crisafulli, who all praised one another for working together to come to the conclusion that they did. School reform critics were less delighted. Education activist Rita Solnet said, “While I appreciate the governor’s acknowledgement of over testing in Florida, parents are frustrated and want to know how this translates into immediate legislative action.”
Florida adopted the Common Core State Standards in 2010 and signed onto a consortium of states, known as PARCC, writing new standardized tests aligned to the standards. But as pushback against the Core initiative grew, Scott decided to “rebrand” them in Florida, changing the name to the Florida Standards and making some changes but keeping most of the Core intact. He also pulled the state out of PARCC and purchased a new test (from Utah, which is actually considering dropping that same test), calling it the Florida Standards Assessments that are supposed to be aligned to the Florida Standards. There are many other standardized tests given in the state as well.
The new report by Stewart detailed the number of standardized tests students take in different districts:
As indicated by districts, over half of Florida’s districts administered at least five or more assessments throughout the year, per grade in the grade spans of K-5, 6-8, and 9-12.
For grades K-5, counts include the Florida Assessments for Instruction in Reading (FAIR) and alternative assessments for third grade promotion, when districts included them.
For grades 6-8, this count includes but is not limited to industry certifications and district end-of-year assessments. Some districts included industry certifications and end-of-year assessments in their response; others did not.
For grades 9-12, this count includes but is not limited to industry certifications, district end-of-year assessments, and AP assessments. Some districts included industry certifications and AP in their response; others did not.
More districts indicated that they assess more frequently in grades 9-12 than in other grade levels.
Actually, if you look at the county-by-county details, students in a number of grade levels were subjected to a number of standardized tests in the double digits. Take Duval County, for example. Students in K-5 take 14 assessments and students in grades 6 12 take as many as 23 per grade.

Here were Stewart’s recommendations, from the report:
  1. Issue an Executive Order to suspend the grade 11 Florida Standards Assessment (FSA) for English language arts until legislation is enacted to eliminate the mandate.
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