LWVeducation
There will be hearings in the legislature about reforms to Florida’s state-wide testing. The Seminole County school district is leading a movement to replace the FSA at least for high school graduation. Senators Gaetz and Legg have made public statements about the need for reform.
What can we realistically expect?
I have reviewed the FSA validity study and the response by the Florida Department of Education. It boils down to a few key issues:
Commissioner of Education Pam Stewart makes no mention of the FSA validity study qualifications regarding the validity of the FSA for different uses. She summarizes the study in three bullets. Then, she states that the FSA is an accurate way to measure student’s mastery of the standards. She announces that group level scores will be used to calculate teacher evaluations and student level cut scores.
The report says much more. The devil is in the details. Important details. This post compares the FSA report finding to the Commissioner’s statement. There are recommendations in the report that are not referenced in the statement. These could make a difference in what scores mean.
When we ask if a test is valid, it is critical to ask: valid for what purpose? The report on the validity of the Florida FSA test was released today. There were findings from six studies conducted by Alpine Testing Solutions and EdCount LLC.
Given that there were six sets of results and conclusions, the researchers did not state that the test as whole was valid. Let’s look at each study’s conclusions. Even more interesting are the results of the analyses taken together and called Cross Study Conclusions.
The study found reasons to be cautious about some of the uses of the scores. The researchers reported that the Florida DOE did not intend to report scale scores or performance standards this first year. Students would receive a percentile ranking, the number of points earned out of the number possible, and the average number of points statewide by category. Interim cut scores for ELA grade 3 and Algebra I would be set by percentile equating based on the FCAT cut scores.
Sorting out hype vs. evidence can be a challenge. The latest American Enterprise Institute report: Measuring Diversity in Charter School Offerings claims that charters should be expanded. In fact, deregulation of charters increases diversity in charter offerings. See what you think after you read the review from N.E.P.C.
Most of you know that the Citizens for Strong Schools and the Southern Legal Counsel have a lawsuit coming to trial in March 2016. The State of Florida fought all the way to the Florida Supreme Court to keep it from coming to trial. They lost. Now, Southern Legal Counsel is preparing its case. This is costly, and the firm is a non-profit. Their attorneys are working pro bono for our schools. They are in the throes of fund raising. You can see a short video on their case here.
The State of New Jersey took over Newark’s public schools in 1995. Fifteen years later, Newark schools were still struggling. Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook fame, donated $100 million to the district in 2010. The Education Commissioner, Chris Cerf, had formerly served as deputy chancellor of New York’s schools. Prior to that he was president of Edison Schools Inc., a private for-profit management company that failed. He hired Cami Anderson, former head of Teach for America and New York’s District 79 at risk schools. What happened next is alarming. It could lead to something constructive.
There is a new FTC scholarship program evaluator this year. Florida State University’s Learning Systems Institute took over from Northwestern’s University’s David Figlio.
Are the results for the 2013-14 data different?
Tax credit vouchers are supposed to give poor children an option out of a failing school. Gary Chartrand, former Chair, Florida State Board of Education, tells it like it really is.
Chartrand makes a case that getting children from poor families out of public schools saves the rest of us money. There may be another not so hidden agenda that Chartrand forgets to mention.
Can you imagine a school like this? It is real. Rawlings School has been transformed. It was one of our lowest achieving public schools last year. Three months later there is an excitement and energy. Rawlings is now a magnet school for the arts.
Inside the building, the space is beautiful and well lit. It is designed for music, art, dance, and theater. As you enter the school, music will greet you. I plan to follow the school to see their new staff in action. Follow it with me.