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Education Issues Blog

To Educate and Inform on Issues Relating to Public Education

Introduction

Our blog is a tool box. Make it work for you. Here you will find data, studies, and perspectives that inform the discussion about school choice. Send stories of events in your state. Tell us about studies that clarify issues. Do your own studies. Use the information you find here to advocate for League positions.

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VISIT THE COMMITTEES. You will see the latest on national school reform issues. Learn about school and teacher ACCOUNTABILITY, CURRICULUM, LAWS, MANAGEMENT, FACILITY issues, and VOUCHER concerns. We will post questions of the week about the hot topics. Participate through our contact icon.

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Difference Between U. S. House and Senate Education Bills

congress-74032_1280The Senate version of the education bill (See: US Senator Lamar Alexandar Bill ) and the House version differ mostly on the requirements for achievement testing.

The House version is a reintroduction of last year’s Student Success Act.  Both version emphasize returning control to the states.

A summary of the House version follows.  We will track the bills.  Check Legislative Updates on the rotating banner for the blog.  It is the photo of the green chalkboard.

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SB 616 Filed to Reduce Testing Impact

dmbtestSenate Education Chairman, John Legg, filed SB 616 to limit testing time and reduce the impact of achievement gain scores on teacher evaluations.

There is also a district option for changing how State assessment results are reported for 2014-15.

Will the bill have a meaningful impact on the amount of testing that is required?  Given that districts must still do local testing in courses not covered in statewide assessments, it is not clear how the number of tests will be reduced.

Testing and learning have always been intertwined.  The question at hand is how much testing and for which purposes should tests be used?  The legislators are listening.  Send them your thoughts.

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LWV Hot Topic on Testing

by Marilyn Wills

pat levesqueThis must have been a highly anticipated Hot Topics event in Tallahassee.  On one side was Patricia Levesque,  the Executive Director for his foundation, Foundation for Excellence, founded by Jeb Bush.  On the other side rosanne wood was Rosanne Wood, former principal of one of the nation’s top 6 innovative high schools.  Ms. Levesque touts Florida’s education gains.  Ms. Wood wonders about shifting denominators in statistics and the impact of testing on students and teachers.

 

Why we should test and why we should reconsider how tests are used was the focus of the meeting.  There was some agreement, but the perspectives on testing were very different.  These are the talking points.  We need to know them inside and out.  Read the report from the Leon County League.Continue reading

Toeing the Line at KIPP or Side Stepping a Little?

toesChildren in KIPP schools toe the line.  The schools are interesting because they are so often cited as one of the most successful charter school chains for students from low income, minority families.  Students are recruited from urban schools–some of which have major discipline problems.  KIPP takes these problems head on.  They have high expectations for learning and behavior.  Of course, they have high suspension and attrition rates as well.

The article in this month’s Atlantic reports how KIPP discipline practices are evolving.  Can they realistically move from a no-nonsense approach to a more moderate but equally successful experience for more students?  Or, is this educational approach only for those who can survive?

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