On October 7, 2015 Miami-Dade County Council PTA/PTSA, along with Fund Education Now; Parents Across America/Florida; NAACP/Florida; and the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC)/Florida called upon Governor Scott to issue an Executive Order to suspend any application of the results of the 2015 Florida Standards Assessments and pause the process going forward until an extensive, independent and transparent review of Florida's accountability system could be conducted.
As the largest County Council of PTAs/PTSAs in the state, representing over 50,000 members, Miami-Dade County Council strongly opposes using the 2015 FSA to grade schools and evaluate teachers. We believe the FSA lacks reliability, does not measure proficiency, nor is able to reflect accurate learning gains.
"We find Florida's school accountability program flawed and have lost faith in the system. It is time to stand up for Florida's students. For that reason, we are asking Governor Scott to lead the way by suspending the current FSA process. There is too much at stake to move forward at this time." said Joseph Gebara, President, Miami-Dade County Council PTA/PTSA.
By the time the Legislature meets in January, Commissioner Stewart and the Board of Education will already be well on their way to setting FSA cut scores with the potential to label 50% of Florida students as failing in language arts or mathematics, and to create an avalanche of new "F" schools. Only Governor Scott has the power to stop this process in its tracks, and redirect efforts towards finding a better, less punitive, manner to guide student progress.
The time to act is now. Please add your voice in support of our children and our schools. Click here to ask Governor Scott to issue an Executive Order to suspend any application of the results of the 2015 Florida Standards Assessment and pause the process going forward until an extensive, independent, and transparent review of Florida's accountability system can be conducted. Copies will go to key members of the Florida Legislature.
Thank you for taking the time to let the Governor know how much this issue means to you. Rest assured, your voice counts!
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