Scott suspends one test as Department of Education releases report for Legislature

With Florida's state legislative session quickly approaching, the Florida Department of Education released its report investigating the state's standardized testing -- and Gov. Rick Scott didn't waste time acting on it.

The Feb. 18 report made several suggestions for the state to change testing practices, the most immediate of which was recommending Florida stop giving an 11th-grade Florida Standards Assessment for language arts. The test was to be given to students for the first time in March, but because the Legislature would likely not be able to act so quickly -- the session starts March 3 -- Stewart asked Scott for an executive order suspending the test until the Legislature could address the change. Scott issued that order on Feb. 24.

The report also suggested ending a requirement for a state college-readiness test, called the Postsecondary Education Readiness Test, given to high school juniors. The department said the test should be optional, because the state already has rigorous enough standards to measure readiness.

Stewart also recommended lawmakers pass legislation turning over progress monitoring from the state to school districts. The report described the state's requirements as "overly prescriptive" and better suited to the local level.

The Legislature should also consider getting rid of local final exams in subjects where there is a statewide end-of-course test. The investigation noted there are statewide exams in Algebra 1, Algebra 2, Geometry, U.S. History, Biology 1 and Civics classes.

Stewart made further suggestions to school districts, including limiting interim assessments -- tests given during the school year to measure progress -- to once per class, per year. These tests can be either school-wide or district-wide.

Districts also were asked not to test students only to evaluate teacher performance. Current assessments already provide benchmarks for this, the report said, so no additional tests should be given for that purpose.

Finally, the districts should regularly update teachers, parents and students about the results of tests, in order to figure out how best to help students learn. This information can help identify changes that should be made in lessons or whether a student needs extra attention.

The Legislature will have to decide if it wants to move on the statewide suggestions. It's up to school districts to decide if they want to act on Stewart's recommendations about district assessments, but the Department of Education said some administrators are already considering them. While we wait for lawmakers, we will continue to rate this promise In The Works.