From the Orlando Sentinel: Board member Kathleen Shanahan
objected to the delay, saying the state's school-accountability system is in
disarray.
"We have a mess on our hands," she said, adding that
"I don't think we can wait" to address growing public concerns about
how students, teachers and schools are evaluated.
Mrs.
Shanahan, who I imagine I would agree with very little on, hits the nail right
on the head but I don’t think she went far enough, because the whole system
built on the lie that unfettered school choice will improve our education
system is in shambles.
Anybody
remember how the state took two years to change the evaluation system so that
teachers would only be evaluated on students they taught? Anybody check out the
Stanford CREDO charter school study which said despite huge advantages children
that go to charter schools as a group are lagging behind. Anybody seen study
that says merit pay works and kids that get vouchers experience better
education out comes? No and that is because they don’t exist. Then please don’t
get me started about he folly of basing a system on high stakes standardized
tests, the fact that Florida doggedly refuses to admit our poorest performing
schools come from neighborhoods wracked with crippling poverty and how Florida
has seen fit to send tens of millions of dollars out of the classroom and into
the bank accounts of hedge fund managers, real estate moguls and charter school
operators.
The whole
system is an embarrassing affront to facts and best practices.
Disarray is putting it mildly.
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