Dive Brief:
- After dropping initial Common Core tests, Florida is now seeing controversy flare up around its replacements.
- In an open letter, superintendents in Florida say the new tests are "flawed" because they were originally developed for Utah and marred by tech glitches.
- The test results in question haven’t been released yet because state officials haven't decided on grading standards.
Dive Insight:
Superintendents are fighting against the projected use of test results for ranking schools and teachers alike. Around half of the state’s students are expected to pass the math and English exams, a percentage on par with results from other states like California.
Miami-Dade County Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho, say the “incomplete, inadequate, possibly corrupted, invalid and unreliable data” from the tests should be thrown out. Others want to salvage the test results for use as a benchmark of sorts against which to measure future progress.
Florida’s not alone in considering a suspension of new Common Core-based test results. School ratings in Nevada have been suspended based on incomplete distribution, and Oregon has also issued a one-year “reprieve” from the use standardized testing for the purpose of teacher and school ratings.
