From the Orlando Sentinel, Florida
needs to set tough passing scores for its new Florida Standards Assessments, so
students leave public school “better prepared for success” and ready
to “compete anytime, anywhere for the rest of their lives,” said John
Padget, the vice chair of the State Board of Education, in a statement sent to
newspapers today.
The State Board has final say on
setting passing scores for the new FSA, a series of standardized tests in
language arts and math taken by some 2 million Florida students. The score-setting process, used in Florida for years, is often contentious and
controversial, and Padget’s remarks make it clear things will be no different
— and perhaps even more so — this year…
Padget said he is in favor of “raising the bar as high as possible.” Florida students, he noted, lag academically behind those in top-performing
states, such as Massachusetts, and those in countries such as Finland and South
Korea. Tougher tests will help students leave school really ready “to meet
the global competition.”
Bush’s education
foundation weighed in
with a similar opinion earlier this week, saying “requiring more of
students always will be harder than requiring less, but it’s critical.”