Reading test results: The state's 3rd-graders posted slightly lower scores on the Florida Standards Assessments reading tests this year, according to results released by the Florida Department of Education. Twenty percent of the state's 3rd-graders - more than 44,000 students - post a Level 1 score, which puts them at risk of repeating the grade. Last year it was 19 percent. About half of the affected students are promoted using the state's retention law exemptions or by attending summer reading camps. Fifty-seven percent of the 3rd-graders posted a Level 3 score, which is considered at or above grade level, down from 58 percent last year but up from the 53 percent in 2015. The test scores also factor into the formula for school grades, which come out later this summer. Orlando Sentinel. Gradebook. Ocala Star-Banner.
Housing for teachers: Suggestions in Miami-Dade, Broward and Monroe counties that affordable housing for teachers be built on school campuses is getting a chilly reaction from teachers. “I mean, who wants to live where they work?” asks Karla Hernandez-Mats, president of the United Teachers of Dade. Other teachers union officials agree, and suggest a better solution would be to pay teachers more so they could afford mortgages or rents in south Florida. WLRN. (more…)
Tenure and achievement: When Florida legislators eliminated teacher tenure in 2011, they argued that making it easier to get rid of bad teachers could lead to better student academic results. Seven years later, a study finds that achievement by students in vulnerable schools has improved only slightly, and that there's no conclusive way to tell if the elimination of tenure played a role in that modest success. "The intent (of the statute) was to raise student achievement by improving the quality of instructional, administrative and supervisory services in the public schools," write researchers Celeste Carruthers, David Figlio and Tim Sass. "Whether (the law) or policies like it succeed in attracting and retaining high quality teachers remains an open question." Brookings Institution. Gradebook.
Special session request: Democrats in the Legislature resort to an obscure rule to force a poll of all lawmakers on the idea of calling a special session to deal with educational funding. Ordinarily, Senate and House leaders decide if a special session is needed. But when they resisted, 35 Democratic members filed petitions with the secretary of state to conduct the poll; 32 are required to force the polling. They don't expect to be successful, but say it will put legislators on the record in an election year. Answers to the poll are due May 24. Gradebook.
