Dive Brief:
- In a series of tweets, Miami-Dade County Public Schools Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho announced his shock to learn taht Florida is paying Utah $5.4 M to test out it’s new Common Core aligned tests for them.
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Carvalho found out the news when, on a conference call with other superintendents from the state and officials including Florida Education Commissioner Pam Stewart, he asked about the state's plan to test out its new standardized tests.
- Florida recently contracted Utah-based AIR (American Institutes for Research) for $220 million to craft a new standardized test aligned to its recently created, Common Core-influenced Florida Standards.
Field test in UT ensures reliability and validity of test in FL? No doubt, the likeness of demographics inspired decision. @StateImpactFL
— Alberto M. Carvalho (@MiamiSup) April 14, 2014
Dive Insight:
Binding Florida and Utah together are the fact that both contracted AIR to create their standardized tests and both created their own personalized state standards instead of using the Common Core.
While these are definitely similarities, it seems odd that one state’s test, which is supposedly personalized to match unique, state-specific benchmarks, could be tested in a different state — much less a state across the nation and with a very different demographic make-up.
The implications of the “Florida Standards” and the “Utah Core Standards” being able to perhaps use the same AIR test speaks volumes for what it means for a state to reject the Common Core and create its own benchmarks.
