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Florida Standards Assessment

Court: Hold back 3rd graders who do poorly on reading test

in 2017/Top Headlines by

In a blow to parents seeking to have their children “opt out” of Florida’s high-stakes tests, an appeals court Tuesday ruled that school districts have a right to hold third-graders back when they score badly on a state reading test. The 1st District Court of Appeal threw out a ruling by a lower court judge who said a handful of school districts must consider options other than students’ performances on the Florida Standards Assessment test when deciding whether to promote…

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New study finds Florida’s high-stakes school tests valid

in 2017/Top Headlines by

Florida’s new high-stakes test, which came under fire after a chaotic rollout this past spring, is valid, according to a new outside study released Tuesday. Education Commissioner Pam Stewart called the results “welcome news” and said the study showed the test “accurately measures Florida students’ mastery of the standards” in math and reading. “Now all Floridians can share my confidence in the assessment,” Stewart said during a conference call with reporters. But the findings may actually do little to stem…

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House Education Committee talks school accountability reform

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The House Education Committee spent about an hour Monday discussing and approving an overhaul of Florida’s testing-focused school accountability program. The measure was approved on a unanimous vote. Read a staff analysis here. Chair Marlene O’Toole said last week she wanted to get the measure to the floor as quickly as possible and Monday committee members backed their chair and moved the proposal along. Representatives of the hospitality industry had couched their objections to a potentially earlier start date for…

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Florida legislators under pressure to alter school testing

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For nearly 2 million Florida public school students, the next few weeks could be a crucial moment in their education. The state is undertaking one of the biggest changes in its classrooms since former Gov. Jeb Bush pushed through his signature A+ school grading system nearly 16 years ago. Students will switch this spring to a new test based largely on Common Core standards, and it’s a test that most will do on a computer instead of paper. What happens…

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