A petition against standardized testing is making its rounds across the nation and the Palm Beach County School District is the first in Florida to sign it. Lynn Hatter reports the move is an expansion of a Texas effort, where more than 300 of that state’s school districts have signed off on their opposition to high-stakes testing.
Florida school districts have long complained about the state’s reliance on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test or FCAT. The test is used for everything from grade promotions, to determining whether teachers will hold on to their jobs. The test is also used to rate schools and their districts on an A-F scale, and many people are beginning to say enough is enough. Rita Solnet is an education activist in Palm Beach.
“We gauge everything on one test, one day and it all falls on the shoulders of that child. And as a nation we’re all saying it’s time to slow down and look at things logically.”
Solnet is part of the group Parents Across America, one of many pushing the petition to stop high-stakes testing on students. The Texas initiative has only been around a few weeks, and the Florida petition has only been available for a few days. In that time Solnet says she’s heard from at least 11 other Florida school districts considering it.
You can read about the Texas movement here.
The petition is here.
