Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Shannon NickinsonMarch 30, 2015

This is no way to run a railroad — or a state education system. In recent weeks, problems with the Florida Standards Assessment writing test made headlines. Schools in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties reported problems and testing was suspended for a time. After nearly three days of complaints from districts across the state about […]

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 […]

Shannon NickinsonSeptember 22, 2014

Kindergarten isn’t what it used to be. Back in the day, kindergarten was a place to learn to work and play well with others. Letter, numbers, a little “See Spot Run.” That’s the way I remember Mrs. Graham’s class at Waverly School. Kids today start out behind the curve if they wait until kindergarten to […]

Tag: Florida Assessments for Instruction in Reading
(L-R) Bobby Powell and Leonard Serratore. Images via the candidates.

Shannon Nickinson: Educational testing in Florida: This is not good business

Catherine Martinez: The nitty gritty of high-stakes tests

Shannon Nickinson: Testing students is fine — until it interferes with educating them