Florida is a state that regards education in ways that many claim to be confusing and inaccurate. State officials are seeking additional power on the local level to assist in modifying the problems that exist. Many agree on this issue, however, there are disagreements on how Florida should go about correcting the problems. Among the major dilemmas are standardized tests, the No Child Left Behind law, and the grading system. Florida needs to reconsider these aspects of education in order to clarify the progress of all schools.
Primarily, standardized testing has been the ongoing problem for many of Florida’s schools. Each year the state must create and issue new tests, and 2014 is no different. The major reconstruction will come from the riddance of FCAT (Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test), but, according to state education officials, “they are on schedule to replace… [it] within 18 months” (2014, McGrory). The plans for the updated tests include switching to new standards and benchmarks that will better measure progress for Florida students. The National Governors Association first created these standards, which would later be adopted by 45 states. The standards highlight aspects that the previous standards neglected. In addition to new standards, Florida must adopt a new company to issue these standardized tests. The original choice was the Partnership for Assessment of College and Career Readiness, but proposal calls eliminated the PARCC from the running. Now, five companies are fighting for the top spot. The chosen company will be announced in late March, which concerns many. Many argue that the state needs to take time to create a new test that is well thought-out and can be issued for many years to come. The Florida As...
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...erformance. The biggest issue seems to be accountability, which is an important aspect to students, teachers, and school boards. The final issue deals with the goal for 2014. To predict that 100% of students would be college-ready by this year is impossible. Some students will always need help- this is a simple statement that must be first understood before setting realistic goals. Additionally, some students will always be ahead. The goals of this act were farfetched, and should have been viewed as impossible from the beginning. Governer Rick Scott believes these misunderstandings provide a chance to gain “more local control” (2012, Armario) which he is very “enthusiastic about” (2012, Armario). The No Child Left Behind Act was started with high hopes that were never fully accomplished, but I believe that it can be successful after modifications and reevaluations.
What the public didn’t hear as much about is how the No Child Left Behind Act has had outcomes that were not intended such as testing anxieties in students, schools having to lay off teachers because of lack of funds because they couldn’t meet qualifying standards, and schools not having funds to purchase textbooks and needed materials to educate the children. The testing that is required for the government to assess the schools and students are not standards for every state, each state has some control over what they test as long as they test the main subjects of Reading and Math. Another negative is the federal funding that was promised by the government was not as much as they promised. This caused the state and local governments to have to pick up expenses that they were not prepared for in order to bring school up to standard.
The implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act applied a market approach to school reform as a way of improving the school system. This new law promised an era of high standards, testing, and accountability in
Though standardized testing has played a part in America's education system it took several tries before it played such a large role in education like it does today. The No child left Behind Act of 2002 was the foot hold standardized testing needed in order to be implemented into schools at a national level with such force. During the 1990’s the U.S felt as though it was falling behind on the Programme for International Assessment. “After No Child Left Behind (NCLB) passed in 2002, the US slipped from 18th in the world in math on the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) to 31st place in 2009, with a similar drop in science and no change in reading”(walker 1).
The United States of America has placed low on the educational ladder throughout the years. The cause of such a low ranking is due to such heavy emphasis on standardized testing and not individual student achievement. Although the United States uses standardized testing as a crutch, it is not an effective measure of a student’s ability, a teacher’s competency, or a school’s proficiency.
The proposed Reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act identifies key factors for college and career-ready students. The act asks that states adopt rigorous college and career ready standards in English/language arts and mathematics along with assessments aligned to these standards. In June of 2010, the NGA Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) released the Common Core State Standards which 45 out of 50 states have currently adopted. Additionally, states are required to develop a system of accountability that rewards successful schools, requires interventions for the lowest-perfor...
Education is the foundation of American society. It empowers the youth of America to become the successful leaders this country needs for the future. Education has been one of America’s top priorities since 1965, when the Elementary and Secondary Education Act was passed. Now, education is controlled by the No Child Left Behind Act, which was launched in January 8, 2002. This act was passed with intentions from the government to provide Americans with a more superior education system. However, The No Child Left Behind Act carried many flaws which were left unseen to a vast majority of the public. This act limited American students by not allowing them to demonstrate their full academic potentials while proceeding in school. While the act was still fairly fresh, there was already evidence to prove that it had already gotten off to a bad beginning. For the crucial math and science courses, statistics showed minimal improvements which had begun around the time period in which the No Child Left Behind Act was passed. The act was also supported by a number of educators who voiced themselves by testifying against having the right to teach at their own free will. Teachers across America claimed that because of this new act, they felt a constant heaviness upon their shoulders from the state government to “Teach the test.”
Worthen, Blaine R., and Vicki Spandel. "Putting the Standardized Testing Debate in Perspective." Educational Leadership Feb. 1991: 65-69. ASCD. 1 Dec. 2013
Students spend most of the year preparing to take one or two big tests at the end. The amount of pressure put on students to succeed on these tests is astronomical, making it impossible to focus on the actual goal of assessing their knowledge. A student in Florida spoke to her school board about the absurd expectations from these tests, “Every year I do well in school, but I get low test scores on the FCAP and it feels like a punch in the stomach. This is unfair and I don't want to lose my opportunity to take my advanced classes or get a better education because of this one test.” (Locker)
...spects that put too much of a burden upon the teachers. All children deserve an excellent education, but it takes more than the teachers and the school system to ensure the success of a child. The child must have the drive and parents as well must be involved. Although the plan has many great ideas, the school system should not be punished if a small group fails what about the large amount that is doing wonderfully? This law was an outstanding start. Now that lawmakers are aware of the problems, they need to act. The worst that could happen is that No Child Left Behind is unchanged, leaving behind yet another child. (Symonds) ?Reform is no longer about access or money. It is no longer about compliance or excuses. It is about improving student achievement by improving the quality of the education we offer American students.? Secretary of Education Rod Paige.
The current debates surrounding the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 are both positive and negative. Many politicians and people that previously supported the Act are now standing against it. In the beginning many supported the new Act because everyone was aware that a change needed to happen in the education system and the proposal of No Child Left Behind seemed like the answer we were looking for. As the No Child Left Behind requirements began to be felt in the school systems across America and the assessments results started coming in, everyone took a step back and really began to look at the new law. The results were not what everyone expected, what was once considered an answer was now becoming the problem.
Medina, Jennifer. "New Standards Mean More F's In State Testing." The New York Times. The New York Times, 28 July 2010. Web. 19 Apr. 2014
Standardized testing scores proficiencies in most generally accepted curricular areas. The margin of error is too great to call this method effective. “High test scores are generally related to things other than the actual quality of education students are receiving” (Kohn 7). “Only recently have test scores been published in the news-paper and used as the primary criteria for judging children, teachers, and schools.”(2) Standardized testing is a great travesty imposed upon the American Public School system.
tests were primarily employed as measures of student achievement that could be reported to parents, and as a means of noting state and district trends (Moon 2) . Teachers paid little attention to these tests, which in turn had little impact on curriculum. However, in the continuing quest for better schools and high achieving students, testing has become a central focus of policy and practice. Standardized tests are tests that attempt to present unbiased material under the same, predetermined conditions and with consistent scoring and interpretation so that students have equal opportunities to give correct answers and receive an accurate assessment. The idea is that these similarities allow the highest degree of certainty in comparing result...
Standardized testing remains to be a major controversial issue for the American society today. Exams are given to students at different levels in their educational career and are supposed to measure their academic knowledge, but are these tests really the best way to evaluate students? There have been numerous alternatives suggested to replace or be used in conjunction with standardized testing.
Standardized testing in the United States is not always a common practice. In the Mid-1800s, Horace Mann, an education reformist, developed a test to administer to a group of students. Its purpose was to determine how students were performing at their current level and whether they were capable of proceeding to a higher level of education, although the student’s success on the test had no negative repercussions. These tests were a necessity at that time because the idea of public education was still being molded and these tests were the only means by which student progress could be measured. Within 35 years of the first recorded examination in 1845, testing became the factor which determined whether students were able to be promoted to the next grade.