Topic: Standardized Testing

Lawmakers appropriated a record amount for public education, granted in-state tuition rates to undocumented immigrants and expanded a tax-credit scholarship program. .

Two researchers conclude that there is either a weak or nonexistent relationship with the quality of teacher's instruction and student performance on standardize tests.

The civil rights group Dream Defenders delivered 5,800 signatures Monday demanding that the state stop discriminating against black and Hispanic students by setting lower academic goals for students of color.

The National Assessment of Educational Progress reports Florida 12th graders who took NAEP exams posted scores below the national average and showed no improvement from 2009.

A federal judge rules against a teacher's union challenge to the evaluation system used to determine teacher's contract renewals and pay raises.

Two national polls reached different conclusions about voters and Common Core academic standards. One found that liberals and moderates support the benchmarks while conservatives said they thought it was bad policy.

The proposal lacks a testing requirement for students and it's not clear if it will be accepted by the Senate where President Don Gaetz has said accountability is one of the themes of the 2014 Workplan.

The American Institutes for Research, based in Washington, D.C., will create new standardized tests to be used in Florida public schools. A new assessment was needed once the state adopted Common Core State Standards as academic benchmarks.

School superintendents, district school board members, parents and teachers have all called for a suspension in awarding letter grades to public schools while the state transitions to new standards and tests. Thursday Sen. Montford filed a bill which would stop the practice for at least three years.

Lawmakers will confront the four horsemen of education during the 2014 legislative session when they revise the school accountability system. Initiatives affecting charter schools, regulations of early learning programs and tying budget increases for higher education to performance are also on the agenda.

The state says the scores capture the effectiveness of a teacher in the classroom. Educators and researchers call the formula used to produce it junk science. Monday the state released the scores for 100,000 public school teachers.

School boards, superintendents and teachers all call for a time out on school grades while the state transitions to new standards and tests. The education commissioner says she has a better idea: Grades with no consequences for one year.

The plan to simplify the A-to-F school grading focuses on student achievement and learning gains and eliminates a hodgepodge of bonuses and demerits that made the formula incomprehensible to most people. ... Related Research: Feb. 18, 2014 Presentation to the State Board of Education from Commissioner of Education Pam Stewart on the Proposed Florida School Accountability Plan.

School grades are used to reward high performing schools and teachers while low performing schools face turnaround options that include being closed and reopened as a charter school. ... Related Research: Feb. 6, 2014 Presentation to the House Education Committee from Commissioner of Education Pam Stewart.