ACTION ITEM: Deep Inside of our Childrens Education - there is more

[Leanne King]

  Deep inside the Education BILL  SPB 7060
Something we should address with our elected officials.

There is another bill that just passed the first round in the education committee. It's SPB 7060 and it's the bill to change the way schools and districts are graded.

Not to pick on Nancy Pelosi however, sometimes it “IS GOOD TO READ THE BILL BEFORE YOU PASS THE BILL.”

Call or write the Senators listed below and ask them to read this section of the bill and to fully understand the implications of the current wording.and the potential impacts to our students. Information below.

Huge red flag with the potential to hurt every high school student.
Here's the bill:

http://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2014/7060/BillText/__/HTML

Read the bill or skip and read the section starting on line 192- this is the dangerous part of the kids and parents.
The following explains the concerns around the section of the bill being addressed and was provided to me by an individual who studies the issues related to Common Core and its tentacles on a regular basis.

“The new way high schools will be graded is 100 points based on test scores including PARCC or whatever replaces it and EOC test scores and the lower 25% of kids improving. And, 100 points based on graduation rates and the number of students in AP, IB, dual enrollment, etc.

Problem and red flag:
The test score section will be a low number because if you look at most schools, their EOC scores for math and science are low and when you add in US History EOC there will be another low score at most schools. So where will principals and school districts look to bump up the high school grades? The only place they have is the numbers of kids enrolled in AP classes.
Will this new grading system result in kids being placed into multiple AP classes without parental or student approval? If it affects people's jobs, will the kids be able to change to an honors class or regular class if they are not doing well?
It's already happening and this new plan just weights the numbers enrolled not the numbers passing.

This follows the Newsweek model that ranks high schools every year but they only use numbers enrolled. One local high school is always in the top 100 because they put tons of kids in AP classes even though they didn't sign up for them. The problem is that if you look into the data, most of the teachers have a 19% pass rate. Some kids have been put into 2 or 3 AP classes without even talking to them and then they are getting D's and F's in AP English and AP US History which must be passed in order to graduate putting these smart kids at risk for dropout and making them feel as if they are failures - these were smart kids who were heading for college yet now they are crying and have no self-esteem and no confidence. And remember that an AP grade cannot be replaced with an honors or regular retake under grade forgiveness. So these F's and D's will stay on these kids records forever unless they take another AP English or AP US History course in their senior year either with the school or virtual school. This means they would be taking AP English plus 12th grade English plus 6 other courses which is nearly impossible. Or they would have to delay graduation for an extra year. So the bad grade permanently tars their future - and this is how we are treating our good students with a promising future?

And this affects good teachers in a bad way. The kids who can't pass the AP test will be the majority in these classes, the classes will be overcrowded because they don't have to meet class size initiative and the teacher's pass rate will drop to the point that they will be labelled ineffective teachers. When the kids start getting bad grades because they can't read a college level book or write a college level essay, then the AP teachers will be told to dumb down the curriculum but this will lead to lower pass rates. It hurts the kids who were ready to take AP, hurts the kids who are being forced into AP and hurts the teachers. And some of the best teachers in the state will quit or retire because they are so frustrated and are labelled as a bad ineffective teacher in the newspaper. The College Board is already preparing to make the AP exams easier but does this really help the kids going to college? See the downward cycle?

I contacted Senator Legg's office yesterday and had a long talk with one of his staffers. He read the section starting at line 192 and thinks the wording means numbers enrolled not numbers passing the tests. He was just out of college and so remembers high school as kids signing up and taking classes that they wanted and their schedules not being changed and being allowed to step down if trying AP was leading to a bad grade. He seemed really surprised that this is happening and listened. I told him that the kids are being lost in the whole process and that the number passing the test is what is important. If he is the one educating Senator Legg then the senator has a false picture of what is happening in Florida schools.

If you can get people to keep calling Senator Legg's office and the other members of the education committee or the next committee that this bill goes to so that these politicians get a real picture of what parents, students and teachers are encountering. Have people emphasize that kids are being put in classes without their consent and that even parents are not being listened to when they ask for a level change due to failure .And please try to get pressure from across the state so this section changed even if it only includes pass rates so our kids aren't used as pawns in the new capitalist school system.

I know this means a double battle, but we have to fight this one while we can change it. And the vague wording leaves the FLDOE in charge of deciding points and implementation and we know they will interpret this as numbers enrolled not numbers passing because it will make them look better and it can be manipulated.”

Senator John Legg Contact information
District Office
262 Crystal Grove Blvd.
Lutz, FL 33548
[phone]

FAX [phone]

Tallahassee Office
316 Senate Office Building
404 South Monroe Street
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1100
[phone]

http://www.flsenate.gov/Senators/s17

Appropriations Subcommittee on Education
Members
Chair:
Senator Bill Galvano (R)
Bradenton, FL 34205
[phone]
404 South Monroe Street
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1100
[phone]
http://www.flsenate.gov/Senators/S26

Vice Chair:
Senator Bill Montford (D)
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1100
[phone]
Apalachicola, FL 32320
[phone]
http://www.flsenate.gov/Senators/S3

• Senator Joseph Abruzzo (D)
Wellington, FL 33414-5785
[phone]
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1100
[phone]
http://www.flsenate.gov/Senators/S25

• Senator Aaron Bean (R)
Jacksonville, FL 32207
904-346-5039
Fernandina Beach, FL 32034
904-346-5039
Tallahassee, FL
[phone]
http://www.flsenate.gov/Senators/S4

• Senator Lizbeth Benacquisto (R)
Ft. Myers, FL 33901
[phone]
Tallahassee, FL
[phone]
http://www.flsenate.gov/Senators/S30
• Senator Dwight Bullard (D)
Cutler Bay, FL 33189
[phone]
Tallahassee,
[phone]
http://www.flsenate.gov/Senators/S39
• Senator Nancy C. Detert (R)
Venice, FL 34292
[phone]
Tallahassee, FL
[phone]
http://www.flsenate.gov/Senators/S28
• Senator Dorothy L. Hukill (R)
Port Orange, FL 32127
[phone]
Tallahassee, FL
http://www.flsenate.gov/Senators/S850) 487-5008

• Senator John Legg (R)
See above
•
• Senator Garrett Richter (R)
Lehigh Acres, FL 33936
[phone]
Tallahassee, FL
[phone]
http://www.flsenate.gov/Senators/S23

*Senator Maria Lorts Sachs (D)
Delray Beach, FL 33444
[phone]
Tallahassee, FL
[phone]
http://www.flsenate.gov/Senators/S34
• Senator David Simmons (R)
Altamonte Springs, FL 32701
[phone]
Tallahassee, Fl
[phone]
http://www.flsenate.gov/Senators/S10

• Senator John Thrasher (R)
St. Augustine, FL 32092
[phone]
Tallahassee, FL
[phone]
http://www.flsenate.gov/Senators/S6

Again,,I thank you for your continued support.

God Bless You and May God Bless Our America

Leanne

General link to Florida Senators:
http://www.flsenate.gov/Senators