Testing Anxiety Hits Home
February 24th, 2015 by Mike VasilindaFlorida’s testing scheme is getting a “D” or an “F” from a majority of parents, teachers and school employees. The results of the online survey sow the frustration of parents as Governor Rick Scott cancelled one test and is asking lawmakers to consider eliminating others.
Rick Scott’s executive order suspends the Florida Standards English Assessment test for 11th graders. High school principal Billy Epps says the students have already proven they can read. “These are the tenth graders who were promised last year who were told if they passed the tenth grade FCAT, they would be done with reading comprehension testing,”
In an online survey, JoAnn McCall, Vice President of the Florida Education Association, the union representing Florida’s teachers says parents give Florida’s overall testing scheme a D or an F. “Our parents, 64 percent, gave testing an F grade in Florida. And twenty-two percent handed out a D.”
The state is switching to its own version of common core this year. A demonstration test was difficult to maneuver through and instructions were difficult to understand. 0
FEA President Andy Ford says teachers are calling for the tests to go forward, but not count, until the results can be verified. “The way we ask questions is new. I mean everything has changed and now its time to see what the results are without punishing kids in the process,”
And educators familiar with the test say if lawmakers were to sit down and take it, there’s no doubt they would suspend it for at least a year.
Pasco County Superintendent Kurt Browning says superintendents across Florida would like a moratorium on the new tests. “We have not had the time to prepare our students because we have not really seen what the test looks like” says Browning.
In a report, the state Department of Education calls for the elimination of more tests that it considers redundant.
Lawmakers will be asked to ratify the Governor’s order ending the 11th grade test when they begin meeting next week.
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