By Andy Ford via Facebook
FEA has always opposed and questioned the overreliance on standardized testing. When this approach was first adopted more than a dozen years ago when Jeb Bush was first elected governor, we pointed out that there was no independent research that pointed to his approach as a direction that was positive for children or for our public schools. There is still no credible research that says that this testing madness helps educate our children well.
This high-stakes testing approach has dominated public education in Florida for more than a dozen years, meaning every student in the K-12 system has been exposed to this regimen for their entire school life. If this approach is a good one and students understand the testing system, why hasn’t it been more of a success?
The education leadership in this state –governors, legislative leaders, the Department of Education and the State Board of Education -- have consistently ignored teachers, education professionals, administrators and research experts and followed this disastrous testing course. It hasn’t helped students, it hasn’t helped teachers, parents are frustrated and it costs millions of taxpayer dollars.
The dramatic drop in writing scores shows that the system is a failure. Children have not suddenly grown less knowledgeable. The problem is in the state-mandated measurement.
About the only group helped by this testing mania are the companies that provide the tests and the materials to prepare for taking the tests. The state has pumped countless millions of dollars to these companies – and for what?
I used to score the FCAT, my wife is an elementary teacher, I score hers and most of the other teachers in the school for the practice papers. Its a joke how much money and emphasis the school system puts into this.
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