Senate finds compromise on student testing
Florida lawmakers may have found a middle ground on the controversial subject of student testing.
A Senate panel tweaked its testing bill Wednesday so that the results of this year’s Florida Standards Assessments would not be used to determine whether third-grade students can be promoted to the fourth grade, or high-school students can graduate until an independent review of the exam is conducted.
The amendment was intended to be a compromise between Republican lawmakers who have vowed not to retreat on school accountability, and the parents and educators who have asked for a pause while Florida transitions to new academic standards and assessments. Their outcry has only grown louder since the state botched the roll-out of the online writing exams earlier this month.
“We want to do two things,” said Senate Rules Chairman David Simmons, R-Altamonte Springs, who proposed the amendment. “We want to make sure students are being tested but not overtested, and whatever test instrument is used is reliable and valid.”
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article16316678.html
