By ALICIA LEONARD
An executive order on Feb. 24, 2015 from Governor Rick Scott has suspended an 11th grade state mandated exam for English Language Arts students citing a need to reduce repetitive or redundant testing.
Scott said he issued the order until the Florida Legislature has a chance to consider eliminating the mandate. Florida Education Commissioner Pam Stewart is said to have conducted an investigation on behalf of Scott of “all standardized assessments used in school districts to better understand the number, frequency, and purpose of such assessments,” according to the order.
On Feb. 18, Scott issued a press release on reducing the testing in Florida schools after Stewart’s investigation. Scott wrote, “A quality education prepares students to succeed in college or a career so they can pursue their dreams. It’s important to measure students’ progress and achievements, but we must not lose sight of our goal to provide every student with the very best education. As I have traveled the state, I have heard from parents and teachers that there are too many tests and I agree. I would like to thank Commissioner Stewart for leading an investigation of standardized testing and helping to determine which tests can be eliminated. I look forward to working with the Legislature to implement the Commissioner’s recommendations and reduce the number of tests this year.”
According to the release, Stewart said the department identified several opportunities where the state requirements could be reduced, but “While the Governor and Legislature are working together on a comprehensive plan to address over testing, the Executive Order is necessary to provide immediate relief to eleventh graders.”
Stewart’s investigation found that “since students meet their English language arts graduation requirement upon completion of the 10th grade assessment, the grade 11 FSA for English language arts is no longer needed,” per Scott’s letter.
Stewart said in the release, “We worked closely with each school district to understand how many standardized tests are currently being administered. I appreciate that our state’s school districts took the time to provide the department with detailed information regarding the tests their students are taking. There is, without a doubt, an excess of testing in Florida schools, and I look forward to working with Governor Scott and the Legislature to ensure we strike the appropriate balance between accountability and instruction.”
Walton County School District Superintendent Carlene Anderson is one of the county superintendents that serve on the Leadership Policy Advisory Committee(LPAC) for Stewart and said that this test is one the committee brought to Stewart to consider eliminating.
“We asked, why do we need to test again in the 11th grade for a test they have to pass in the 10th,” Anderson told the Herald/Breeze.
“I’m pleased Commissioner Stewart took this to Gov. Scott, and he acted on it. I fully support it. Anytime something we are doing is redundant or duplicates what we are already have in place, we need to do away with it, and this was one of those items,” Anderson added.
The Legislature will reconvene on March 3, and have the opportunity to consider repealing the statutory requirement for the administration of the 11th grade Florida Standards Assessment for English language arts.
To see the complete report from Stewart, and possible plans to streamline the testing process in Florida schools, go to www.flgov.com and follow the links.
