State Needs to 'Step Back' on New Assessments, Pasco Superintendent Says

As students across the state prepare to take the new Florida Standards Assessments for this first time this year, some educators are raising warning flags that schools – and most especially – students just aren’t ready for the tougher requirements.

Pasco County School Superintendent Kurt Browning recently posted a letter on the district’s Facebook page explaining his and the school board’s position:

Dear Parents,

Florida has had education standards since the 1970s, and the School Board and I agree that we have to assess students to make sure that we are teaching them those standards. Standardized tests are useful for measuring whether we are doing that.

Accountability also is necessary. We accept that we must be held accountable for providing students with a high quality education based on the state’s standards.

However, I am concerned that Florida is moving too quickly to implement the new assessments without knowing whether they are valid, reliable, and fair. I fear that teachers haven’t had the time they need to adjust to the new standards and integrate them into their lesson plans. I also worry that our technology infrastructure isn’t adequate to administer these online tests. In addition, I’m afraid that many students don’t have the computer literacy skills to successfully take the timed exams on computers.

We are working with the Legislature and Department of Education on these issues to try to convince the state to take a step back, confirm the reliability of the new assessment, and make sure that all districts have the capacity to administer them. So much rides on these tests, and we hope to convince state leaders to slow down, make this a benchmark year, and allow teachers and students time to learn the standards.

We still will administer the exams, and we expect every student to take the exams. This test will be more challenging than the FCAT and FCAT 2.0, and that’s another reason we are asking the state to give us more time to fully implement the standards and assessments.

Sincerely,
Kurt Browning

It is unclear at this time if the state will agree to make the 2014-15 school year a benchmark year for the new testing requirements. More information about the new tests is available on the Florida Department of Education website.

What are your thoughts on this? Is the state moving too fast with these new standardized tests? Share your opinions by commenting below!

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