A little bit less testing in Florida's public school system
TALLAHASSEE —
Seeking to ease the pressure on schoolchildren — and quell the growing backlash from parents — the Florida House voted unanimously Wednesday to scale back testing in public schools.
The proposal (HB 7069) eliminates an 11th-grade English test and a requirement that local school districts create tests in every subject not covered by the new Florida Standards Assessment. It also allows the school year to begin as early as Aug. 10.
“With the passage of this legislation, we have addressed legitimate concerns about student testing while maintaining a strong accountability system that promotes quality instruction in the classroom,” said House Education Committee Chairwoman Marlene O’Toole, R-Lady Lake.
The House declined, however, to suspend school grades during the transition to new standards and assessments, as superintendents, teachers and parents had requested.
Republican lawmakers also rejected a proposed amendment that would have given students the option to choose pencil-and-paper exams until school districts are “ready for the successful deployment of online assessments.” Parents had clamored for the change as backup plan, but the majority of lawmakers wanted to press forward with online testing.
Some Democrats, though they voted in favor of the overall bill, were disappointed in the final legislation that passed.
“We had an opportunity to do more and we failed to do that,” said Rep. Mia Jones, D-Jacksonville.
Despite the 115-0 vote, the final chapter of the Florida testing debate has yet to be written. The Senate is considering its own plan to scale back testing (SB 616) — and it contains significant differences from the House version.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/education/article15239894.html
