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Bright Futures not so Bright

Posted on November 15, 2016November 15, 2016 by Sue Legg

I knew that the qualifications for Bright Futures scholarships had gone up. Now I understand the impact. In order for the State to save money, the rich get richer. The Florida lottery supports these scholarships. While the revenue for the lottery is still increasing, the percentage allocated to education is decreasing. It would be interesting to know why and how much.

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3rd Grade Retention and Ability Grouping Tradeoffs

Posted on November 13, 2016November 13, 2016 by Sue Legg

The Florida School Board Association (FSBA) is shifting ground on third grade student retention criteria. Such issues make me think about ability grouping in general. Are we going overboard?

Are we putting huge pressure on kids not only to ‘get to grade level’ but also to be ‘gifted’ or ‘highly gifted’? Do all children feel like they have a FSA proficiency level painted on their T-shirts? This is an age old issue of grouping and tracking vs. diverse ability classrooms where children have different strengths and weaknesses regardless of “I.Q.” as measured by a test?

The FSBA wants more evidence than a single test score to determine student achievement. Fair enough, but there is more to think about! In a newly adopted platform, the FSBA calls for three revisions to current practice in retaining third graders:

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Florida House Education Chair: More of the Same

Posted on November 10, 2016November 10, 2016 by Sue Legg

Richard Corcoran, Speaker of the Florida House, has named his Education Chair. It is Miami’s Representative, attorney Michael Bileca. According to the Tampa Bay Tribune, we can expect more of the same.