Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Guest AuthorFebruary 15, 2015

The ironically named Student Success Act of 2011 mandated something called the Valued Added Model, which attempts to quantify each teacher’s influence on each student. The complicated formula purports to predict what a student’s normal gain scores on a standardized test will be from one year to another. If a student gains more or loses […]

Jac VerSteegFebruary 15, 2015

If you don’t like former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush’s stance on education, you might not like President Barack Obama’s stance either. They actually have toured Florida schools together, and both generally are in favor of high-stakes tests that they say bring accountability. Jeb had the FCAT-based school grading system, and the Obama administration was behind […]

Guest AuthorFebruary 1, 2015

Floridians hear a lot about over-testing and high-stakes testing in our public schools. Even if you are sympathetic to the problem, unless you are very plugged into the details, you have only a general idea of what it all means. Let me give you some of those details. Most of my career has been as […]

Jac VerSteegJanuary 11, 2015

Florida’s national ranking by Education Week has dropped precipitously, to No. 28. In 2013, Florida was ranked No. 6. When Florida’s public education system rose to No. 6, politicians raced to crow and claim credit. The ranking proved, they said, that Florida’s encouragement of charter and voucher schools and the state’s accountability system were working. […]

Jac VerSteegJanuary 4, 2015

Candidates mouthed the words “education” a lot in 2014, but it was not a decisive election issue. Still, against the odds, 2015 might be the year the Florida Department of Education makes a sincere effort to make its testing policies reasonable. There has been legitimate concern that Rick Scott, safe in his second term and […]

Jac VerSteegJanuary 4, 2015

Candidates mouthed the words “education” a lot in 2014, but it was not a decisive election issue. Still, against the odds, 2015 might be the year the Florida Department of Education makes a sincere effort to make its testing policies reasonable. There has been legitimate concern that Rick Scott, safe in his second term and […]

Jac VerSteegDecember 15, 2014

If Florida lawmakers are such “school choice” advocates, they should give public schools the same choices enjoyed by the private voucher schools. The voucher schools never were required to give students the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test and won’t be required to administer the tests involved in Florida’s switch to a testing system based on Common […]

Martin DyckmanDecember 4, 2014

As if American students don’t already face enough standardized tests, here comes another. Legislatures in eight states are considering adding success on a civics test to the requirements for high school graduation. Florida isn’t one of them, but it can’t be long before test-happy Tallahassee adopts the idea, which surfaced most recently in North Dakota. […]

Martin DyckmanDecember 3, 2014

As if American students don’t already face enough standardized tests, here comes another. Legislatures in eight states are considering adding success on a civics test to the requirements for high school graduation. Florida isn’t one of them, but it can’t be long before test-happy Tallahassee adopts the idea, which surfaced most recently in North Dakota. […]

Guest AuthorAugust 6, 2014

My daughter’s report card arrived home last week. Belatedly. She had been out of town and her charter school refused to mail it. My daughter collected it in person. For her, the news was good but somewhat ambiguous. But for us, the parents, it meant more questions than answers. For her classes, my daughter earned […]

Tag: FCAT

Catherine Martinez: 'Value Added Model' of no value to teaching

Jac Wilder VerSteeg: How Jeb Bush made going nuts seem sane

Catherine Martinez: The nitty gritty of high-stakes tests

Jac Wilder VerSteeg: The 'They changed the formula' education excuse

2015 might bring high-stakes testing reform to Florida

Jac Wilder VerSteeg: 2015 might bring high-stakes testing reform to Florida

Jac VerSteeg: Let public schools choose to give voucher-school tests

Martin Dyckman: Watch for yet another standardized test — this one on civics

Martin Dyckman: Watch for yet another standardized test — this one on civics

Andrew Skerritt: Parents are the X-factor in the calculus of public education