The Tampa Bay Times reports that the Manatee Superintendent will promote third graders after all who would otherwise qualify even though they do not have a FSA test score.  Superintendent Green was clearly vexed.  She cited telephone conversations and emails with the Florida Department of Education which clearly indicated students must have appropriate test scores in order to be promoted.

Today, the story changed.  Now, students can demonstrate mastery by developing a portfolio in a reading camp or by taking the Stanford Achievement test.  It is not clear that parents will accept these alternatives when their children have demonstrated good reading skills in their classroom performance and report cards.  Stay tuned.  This has gone past politics and logical reasoning.

The Superintendent is between a rock and a hard place. She opposed the FSA last year, but she felt she had to follow Department of Education edicts.  Unfortunately for her, the story from the DOE changed between Friday and Tuesday.  Testing, Florida style.

Opt Out Parents are seeking legal remedies over Florida’s third grade retention policies.  According to Politico, parents whose children attended the FSA testing session but did not take the test will be retained.  In this article, parents are interviewed across Florida.

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