Likewise, education cannot be a system that is frozen in time and held hostage to old views and outdated methods. We must embrace innovation and lead with principles. The principle of accountability ensures we measure student outcomes. This allows us to understand how our children's performance compares to those around the state. Parents have a right to know whether their child is making adequate progress.
The teachers union and the League of Women's Voters have called for a full retreat from the accountability system; their call for a retreat from school accountability is driven in part because the accountability system now connects teacher evaluations to the performance of their students.
With increased public investment in our public schools, there is some reasonable expectation that the system performs and works to meet high standards. Most teachers easily meet the effective and highly effective requirements. In fact, well over 90% of teachers are rated as meeting these criteria.
Legislation that passed in 2014, with the support of school districts, provided that public schools will be held harmless for their 2014-2015 school grades and will continue to receive the school recognition money that traditionally is allocated to teacher bonuses by the local school advisory councils.
In response to concerns about testing, the legislature during the 2015 regular session passed reforms aimed at reducing testing, validating the new Florida State Assessment and creating more local flexibility. I have highlighted some of the changes below that were passed into law as part of CS/HB 7069;
- The bill eliminated unnecessary and duplicative state and district assessments by repealing the 11th grade English Language Arts and repealing the requirement for the Post-Secondary Readiness Test (PERT), along with prescriptive remediation and progress monitoring requirements.
- The bill prohibited the administration of district-based final exams in addition to statewide end - of - course exams.
- In order to maximize instructional time, the bill limited administration of state and local assessments to no more than 5% of a student's total school hours.
- To increase local school board flexibility the bill provided greater discretion to school administrators to address monitoring of reading level of K-3 students and addressing the needs of students who struggle with math and reading.
- The bill required 3rd grade students who receive scores in the bottom quintile on the 2014-2015 English Language Arts ( reading ) to be identified as "at risk" and required these students to receive intensive instruction and support.
- The bill granted school districts greater flexibility and local control in measuring student performance in grades and subjects not associated with state assessments.
- The bill granted local school districts additional flexibility in evaluating teacher and administrator performance by reducing the student performance (including results from the Florida Standards Assessment (FSA) and end-of-course exams) and instructional practice evaluation to one third each.
- CS/HB 7069 required results from district-mandated local tests be provided to teachers and parents within 30 days after the test is given.
- Each school is required to publish on its website the testing schedule (both state and local- mandated tests) and must include a parent guide.
- School districts were given additional local control to evaluate teachers using district-selected criteria such as peer review, parent surveys and other job and professional responsibilities.
- The bill granted the school districts greater local control to measure student performance in subjects and grades not associated with statewide-standardized tests.
The truth is that many school districts rely heavily on student growth to improve their grade. This student growth data is not available because of the transition from FCAT to the new more rigorous FSA test. While statutes require that grades be issued the law specifies that grades will not be used in a punitive manner.
Many of the jobs that our children will seek to compete for will require some level of higher learning and will involve a greater need for critical thinking skills, math and science. The rigor of your child's education will largely determine whether they are able to gain admission to any of the Florida universities that are now recognized as some of the best nationally.
Last year the legislature allocated approximately $2 million in additional funding to Nassau County Public Schools. The legislature and Governor Rick Scott continue to focus on investing new funds in our K12 Education system. I will be working to help increase the investment in education during the 2016 session.
The reforms passed by the 2015 legislature provide school districts with greater flexibility on testing and how teachers are evaluated. As a parent of two high school teenagers, I understand the need for quality instructional time and worked as a lawmaker to improve greater local control in finding balanced solutions.
Winning the future starts with a commitment and sense of urgency about the success of each child. I often receive e-mails from frustrated parents who struggle to find a path towards their child's success and the disappointment they face when the system is failing their child.
Many teachers are using new and innovative instructional methods aimed at helping students succeed. Perhaps there should be a greater focus on ensuring that we create that path that allows a student to realize the rewards of their hard work and recapture their interest and engagement in the classroom. It is rewarding when your child comes home and is excited about what is happening in their classroom and is being inspired by a great teacher!
I am committed to looking at further changes and reform during the 2016 legislative session. One major focus of my committee work will be to craft a framework to ensure we address the challenge of those who struggle to read and those with Dyslexia. I invite you to share with me your thoughts and concerns with your child's educational experience, it is through your comments and suggestions that real reform is achieved; you can contact me at
janet.adkins@myfloridahouse.gov.
