A dozen Florida school districts push back against the FCAT, Duval still silent

From the Orlando Sentinel by Leslie Postal

UPDATE: Now it’s 12 districts, as Pinellas schools this afternoon signed on, too, reports FairTest.

Eleven Florida school districts, including Osceola County’s, have signed the national anti-testing resolution that calls for states and the federal government to scale back on standardized testing, according to FairTest, the national organization that put the resolution together.

Citrus and Pinellas could vote on the resolutions this week, while parent and teacher groups today will ask Orange and Seminole’s school boards to do the same. The full Florida School Boards Association could adopt it — or a more Florida-specific version – at its annual meeting in Tampa on Thursday.

“The Florida school boards signing the resolution, along with thousands of other organizations and individuals across the nation are saying, ‘Enough is enough,’” said Bob Schaeffer, FairTest’s public education director, in a statement.

Schaeffer, who lives in South Florida, added, “It’s time to reexamine and overhaul the FCAT, test-based school grades and the state’s other non-productive assessment policies.”

The resolution is modeled on one from Texas.

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