LWVeducation
It is an election year. Which way is the wind blowing? Judging by the rift over the Democratic Party Platform, testing, accountability, and charter school management could see significant changes….or not.
The draft platform opposed for-profit charter schools. The amended platform added even many more changes:
There is the law, and then there are the regulations to implement the law. Some say the new federal Department of Education proposed regulations for the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) overstep the intention of the law. They create more stringent rules about testing and accountability than the ESSA intended. The Florida Department of Education has put out a call for your input about the regulations. You have until July 22, 2016 to respond. Responding in a meaningful way takes some thought.
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.
Is there hope for a rational testing system? Senator Don Gaetz has been a moderating voice on Florida’s overwrought testing and accountability system. He called for the reduction of the weight from 50% to 30% of the student gain scores that are counted in teacher evaluations. Then, in the 2015 session, he proposed substituting national tests like the SAT and ACT for the FSA. Since college bound students must take these tests anyway, it is redundant to have them sit for state assessments as well.
In Florida, a child does not have to pass the third grade Florida Standards Assessment (FSA) English Language Arts test to be promoted. So why call level three the ‘passing level’ when children earning a level two are promoted?
Criteria for new school grades are drafted by the U.S. Department of Education. Under this new plan, states can choose their own indicators of school quality or student success that move beyond the traditional accountability measures based on test scores or graduation rates. School Report Cards must also be made in consultation with parents. The draft document is now under review and open for comment It includes:
Remember when Susan Bowles, the kindergarten teacher in Gainesville said “NO” to the kindergarten readiness test? The kids could not reliably use the computer mouse. One thing for sure was that the children just beginning kindergarten were not computer ready!
The State put the test on hold last year. This year they tried an alternative test.
Districts state that budgets are inadequate to meet all student needs. Children in poverty and the high rate of homelessness require more funding to provide tutoring, time and behavioral support. However, the defense argues:
Remember Susan Bowles’ decision not to test her kindergartners? They just plain had trouble navigating the test with the mouse. If they made a mistake with the mouse, they made a mistake on the test. Susan Bowles said enough was enough. She went to her superintendent who agreed.
Now the State Department of Education agrees. Commissioner Pam Stewart has sent a letter to Owen Roberts, Alachua County Superintendent. It states that K-2 required testing using FAIR is now suspended through out the State. Three cheers–maybe more for Susan Bowles. You can read the letter here.