Connecting moms in Polk County, Fla.
Looking for moms who support Accountability and Higher Standards in Schools
Hi, my name is Kate Wallace and I work for the Foundation for Excellence in Education; however, I was born and raised in Bartow and attended public schools my entire life. Many parents don't know, but Florida has become a fascination of the national public education community because of our dramatic turnarounds on the National Assessment for Educational Progress (NAEP), which gives a standards-based test to a sample of students in all 50 states on reading and math. These scores are then broken down by grade (4th, 8th and 10th) and race. In the last 12 years, Florida has gone from being third from the bottom to 4th from the top! We lead the nation for how much we've narrowed the achivement gap between whites and minorities. Our students with disabilites have posted more gains than any other state. Our Hispanic students test better than the general population of 21 states. We have also led the nation in the growth of students who take and pass the AP test. We have more African American students than any other state who take and pass AP exams.
As controversial as FCAT might be, an emphasis on accountability, transparency of how schools perform (via school grades), and now, moving forward, ensuring that only qualified teachers remain in the classroom, Florida is leading the way for modeling education reform. We've also expanded school choice through the Florida Virtual School (online education), charter shcool options, and freedom for home schooled students to take part in any aspect of a traditional school, from an elective to a core academic course.
To read more about Florida's rise in education, please visit this story: http://www.redefinedonline.org/2012/06/floridas-public-school-defen...
I write all of this to say-- I am looking for a mom who values Florida's emphasis on raising standards and accountability: A state that refuses to socially promote third graders who cannot read; A state that requires high school students to master 8th grade level math and reading before they can receive a high school diploma; A state that rewards excelling schools and intervenes with ones who aren't. If you're that mom, please email me. We want moms to stand up and offer an alternative voice to some out there who oppose accountability in our schools or who defend the status quo. If you are that mom, please email me- Kate@excelined.org.
Thank you!
Tags: Accountability, Education, FCAT, Schools
Views: 549
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Kate Wallace on -
Kim - I am glad to hear you are looking into Common Core State Standards. They are the reason why Florida is phasing out the FCAT in a few years to transition to end-of-course exams in core subject areas reflected in these new standards. All 38 states (or near that number) who've committed to integrating CCSS in their schools and testing against them will do so by 2014-2015. The immediate challenge states must face is that these standards are considerably more difficult than the baseline we've tested agaist on the FCAT. Instead of going from 0 to 100 overnight, the state partially raised the standards this year (hence the lower overall passing rate). Then in a few years when we transition to CCSS, the jump from today's standards to CCSS won't be nearly as dramatic.
I am also glad to hear you support accountability- I encourage you to email me so I can discuss an opportunity I have for moms like you. Thanks for writing! Kate@excelined.org
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Permalink Reply by Kim Boone on
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As the Mom of children who currently attend public schools, and as a product of public schools myself (and the University of Florida, GO GATORS!), my opinion is that the FCAT is not moving our school children in a positive direction, and I have at least a little company as evidenced by the many school districts who have adopted resolutions to place less emphasis on the results of Standardized Testing. There are also many school districts in Texas who have such resolutions. There is additionally at least one national resolution regarding testing as well. There may be other areas creating these resolutions. I read in an article that Orlando has 48 days of testing. That is almost 27% of the school year! It has been reported that all the testing may be taking the joy out of learning for many people.
In my opinion there is certainly a place for standardized testing in our schools. As a former manufacturing cost accountant, I surely appreciate measurement and comparison. However, I hope Common Core uses a new testing provider, one with no ties whatsoever to the administrator of the FCAT/ EOC exams (these exams are handled by the same company, Pearson). Also, when there is a certified teacher in the classroom, that person's judgement regarding individual student achievement is integral in making decisions about the child's future.Since teachers helped to create Common Core, hopefully the testing provider that is used for assessment will have synergy with the National System.
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Permalink Reply by Kate Wallace on
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Thanks for your feedback. I thought this editorial that ran in the Tallahassee Democrat today reflects an interesting point of view about testing.
http://www.tallahassee.com/article/20120607/opinion05/206070326/joh...
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Permalink Reply by Kim Boone on
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The article infers you are a Seminole fan, which may explain a lot:)
A big part of the research on the Common Core that I want to do, is to find out a lot more about the testing and how that plays into the whole National skills focus. Hopefully we can find out what we need about the skills of the children without spending 25% and more of our time doing so. 15% more instructional time (just a guess) from a certified teacher may be just what is needed to really let our kids shine! After a decade or more of dismal results using the Pearson company for testing, it may be worth a try to change.
If not FCAT (and EOC I might add) then what? It's a great question. Let's look into it.
I think it's really neat how it seems that people are agreeing about the Common Core.
Kate Wallace said:Thanks for your feedback. I thought this editorial that ran in the Tallahassee Democrat today reflects an interesting point of view about testing.
http://www.tallahassee.com/article/20120607/opinion05/206070326/joh...
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Permalink Reply by Kate Wallace on
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But Kim: that's just it-- we haven't had dismal results on testing. Florida leads the nation for how much we've turned around our testing performance over the last 12 years. Our testing process certainly is not perfect, but it's far from the truth to say we haven't progressed under testing.Also, I am lifelong Gator and proud University of Florida graduate, so Go Gators! I follow education news from around the country, so it was only a coincidence that I posted something in Tallahassee. Also, if you'd like to see education reform headlines from Florida and around the country, I'd encourage you to visit www.theedfly.com and subscribe to its emails. It's like a "Sayfie Review" of national education headlines!
Thanks again-Kate
Kim Boone said:The article infers you are a Seminole fan, which may explain a lot:)
A big part of the research on the Common Core that I want to do, is to find out a lot more about the testing and how that plays into the whole National skills focus. Hopefully we can find out what we need about the skills of the children without spending 25% and more of our time doing so. 15% more instructional time (just a guess) from a certified teacher may be just what is needed to really let our kids shine! After a decade or more of dismal results using the Pearson company for testing, it may be worth a try to change.
If not FCAT (and EOC I might add) then what? It's a great question. Let's look into it.
I think it's really neat how it seems that people are agreeing about the Common Core.
Kate Wallace said:Thanks for your feedback. I thought this editorial that ran in the Tallahassee Democrat today reflects an interesting point of view about testing.
http://www.tallahassee.com/article/20120607/opinion05/206070326/joh...
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Permalink Reply by Kim Boone on
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Our FCAT/EOC scores are very dismal.
I agree with the growing number of school districts in this state and others who are passing resolutions regarding the testing company that provides our FCAT and EOC testing.
In your research do you have the statistic of what ranking Florida is for the nation in education spending?
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Permalink Reply by Kate Wallace on
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On Florida's testing progess, I was referring to how we've soared from the near bottom to the near top in 12 years on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) standards. This briefing from our foundation reviews Florida's progress since the implementation of school grading and the FCAT. http://www.excelined.org/Docs/A%20Summary%20of%20Florida's%20Educat...
Our scores this year were worse than normal because of the raised standards in preparation for the implementation of the Common Core State Standards. But if you go back over the last 12-15 years, today's students in Florida as a whole, regardless of income, zip code or skin color, are all better at reading, writing and math skills. But we still have a long way to go because out of all the students who attend college, most of them require remediation, and that costs all of us -- it's less efficient for those students and more expensive for Florida's taxpayers and tuition payers.
Hope that briefing helps and I am happy to answer any more questions you have. Thanks for your time.
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Permalink Reply by MonsterMom on
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I notice on your organization's website that it supports the idea of private schools and vouchers. Are you advocating that those private schools be held to the same accountability methods of public schools?
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Permalink Reply by Kate Wallace on
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The Foundation, more than anything else when it comes to the private school and vouchers issue, advocates for school choice. One solitary public school system, or one particular school a child is zoned for should not be the only publicly-funded option available to each child, particularly in the event that the school is a failing one, of if any child has special needs that are difficult for the traditional school setting to meet. Many times, private schools, charter schools, homeschooling, or virtual education are in a much better position to meet kids with a variety of special needs, or can take kids who are otherwise normal, but for one reason or another, have trouble thriving in their traditional zoned public school.
Second, yes, we do support holding private schools accountable for the academic progress of students who use public dollars or private dollars issued by the government through private tax credited donations from corporations (which is presently how Florida awards scholarships in lieu of the state supreme court ruling that vouchers are unconstitutional). See p. 4 of this model legislation that requires state testing for these students: http://excelined.org/Docs/Model%20Legislation_Tax%20Credit%20Schola.... Private schools do have exemptions granted to them from certain state requirements because they are in fact private insitutions; however, in order to accept students on tax credit scholarships, they do have to meet rigorous background check, reporting, and financial requirements.
The right question to ask is how can, we, the state of Florida, give every child the best education possible, even if it means sending some students to alternative schools on the taxpayers' dime? The proof is in the pudding-- the cost of these tax credit scholarships is lower per student (around $4000) than what we would spend on that same student when he or she attends public school, and that saves school districts money, tens of millions of dollars in fact. Secondly, the academic outcomes of these students compared to their peers who did not exercise choice is remarkable. Fore more information on Florida's opportunity scholarship program, please visit http://www.floridaschoolchoice.org/Information/osp/files/Fast_Facts....
To answer your question, state and local spending combines to equal $6,500 per student in the state of Florida for the 2012-2013 school year, which is 150 dollars per student more than this past year, thanks to the $1 billion increase in education spending. The highest spending states in the country, like New Jersey and Washington, DC, for example, spend upwards of $30,000 per year on each student have some of the poorest, most horrific academic and graduation rates in the country. There is no correlation between spending and achievement, but there is proven correlation between accountability, standards and achievement.
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Permalink Reply by Kate Wallace on
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See my reply below! thank you.
MonsterMom said:I notice on your organization's website that it supports the idea of private schools and vouchers. Are you advocating that those private schools be held to the same accountability methods of public schools?
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Permalink Reply by Kim Boone on
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I am 'for' reducing the stress level to our children and educators due to extensive testing. I am not against assessments. 25% of class time spent testing is excessive and distressing to those who are actually participating in it. Also, we should not discount the value of the assessment of a 180 day analysis performed by a physically present certified teacher when deciding upon how students will spend their time, in a remediation course or moving forward.
Funding does matter! What about books, smart boards, enough computers, or new buildings to replace a sea of portables? Teachers buying their own school supplies - that's dedication to the craft! But gosh, can't we get back to the same level of money for schools we had a couple years ago?
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Permalink Reply by Kate Wallace on
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Obviously we need sufficient funding in general, but I was making the point that more funding in general does not necessitate a higher quality education, given the dramatically varying statistics from state to state that fail to link level of school funding with achievement.
When the focus becomes rooted in choice, high standards and accountability, the financial piece will fillow. For instance-- Florida will begin rewarding all teachers rated "effective" or "highly effective" starting in 2014-2015, and those ratings will be 50% based on how their students test. Right now, the only time a teacher can receive a raise is if every teacher in her respective district, ignorant of their effectiveness, gets a raise, too. Or what about adhering to classroom size? Let's say there's a limit of 25 students who can take an Algebra class together. Qualified math teachers are presently hard to find. Then let's say that school gets a 26th student who wants to take Algebra. Because of the class size problem, that school would be require to hire another teacher and fill another classroom to ahere to the law. Alternatively, any number of students could instead choose to take that class online with Florida's virtual school while remaining enrolled at their traditional school for every other class. Given that the cost to the state of Florida is only a few hundred dollars per student to enroll in one course, and given that the school district would be freed from the roughly 50-75K cost of hiring a new teacher (salary + benefits), one can start to imagine how much savings our state could realize while simultaneously widening options for our students. This can be applicable to any subject-- foreign languages (how many students can study mandarin or arabic right now?); sciences, history, etc. Every school district has its own challenges from year to year and grade to grade, so allowing school choice and digital learning to take place on the state's dime will give unparalleled financial flexibility to all school districts while simultaenously delivering higher quality education and opportunities for all students.
The USA as a whole has exponentially increased funding for education-- more than double-- over the last 40 years, but our academic achievement has either flat-lined or fallen. We spend more on education than any other industrialized country in the world, except one Scandanavian one, I believe.
Teachers have every reason to be stressed about the demands placed on them. Their job is very hard, and many children do not come to school prepared to learn, for a variety of reasons. But that does not mean that teachers or their administrators should pass the stress burden to their students. And--to be honest-- the day to day testing issued by my own teachers growing up was as stressful, if not more stressful, than the FCAT. The FCAT was assembled and approved by teachers all across Florida for fairness and accuracy, so it should not be given the horrible "testing" label unless we want to include all the regular testing teachers pass long to students every day, whether or not the FCAT would exist. Teaching to the test is also a choice teachers and administrators choose to make. The FCAT is not a test-skills oriented-exam, like the SAT or the LSAT might be. It is a test that measures one's knowledge of specific material and standards that are designed to prepare students for success. This is a culture problem we have in our schools that can and should be addressed.
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