Florida Gov. Rick Scott made good Tuesday on his pledge to cancel a test planned for the state's 11th-graders, but the Republican governor rebuffed calls to suspend the grading system first put in place by former Gov. Jeb Bush.
The state's high-school juniors were scheduled in the next few weeks to take a standardized test in English and language arts that is tied to Florida's new education standards, largely modeled on Common Core.
Scott, saying that too much testing is going on in Florida's public schools, issued an executive order that let Education Commissioner Pam Stewart cancel the test.
But the governor's decision prompted top officials in Florida's teacher union to say that Scott needed to take even more action.
Andy Ford, president of the Florida Education Association, said the state should put on hold all sanctions now associated with the state's A-to-F school grading system, including ones that prevent third-graders who fail the state's standardized tests from being promoted to the fourth grade.
Ford said the state should suspend the sanctions because Florida is transitioning to new tests this spring that have never been used before. The bulk of the new tests is also being given on computers, which has prompted fears that some school districts may not be ready to handle the tens of thousands of students who will need to be online.
"I don't think the governor has gone far enough," Ford said. "The tests are making life decisions for human beings ... and we don't know if the tests that we are using are accurate. Are they fair? Does the question really judge my knowledge or is it my motor skills in using a mouse?"
Local
Scott, who met Tuesday with each school district's "Teacher of the Year," said he would not support suspending the entire grading system. He expressed optimism that the state's students would do well on the new tests.
"I believe in measurement. I believe in accountability. But I think what we have done is a step in the right direction," Scott told reporters after the two-hour meeting. "When we measure something, there's a greater chance that we are going to take it seriously and we are going to improve."
While campaigning for re-election last fall, Scott called for an investigation into the amount of testing done in state schools.
After compiling information submitted to the state by the state's 67 school districts, Commissioner Stewart found that the time dedicated to state-mandated testing has gone up in several grades but not every grade. The amount of testing for 10th-graders, for example, dropped from nearly 10 hours in 2007 to four-and-a-half hours this school year. But the inquiry found that testing rose sharply in this school year over the one that ended last summer.
Florida first expanded the use of high-stakes standardized tests in grades 3 through 10 as part of changes pushed into law by Bush. But over the years more tests have been added - including end-of-course exams in subjects such algebra, geometry and United States history.
