State rates teacher prep programs

"Out of the blue, the FCAT has a new job: measuring the programs across the state that produce teachers. (read full article here)"

Florida will start to try to rate teacher preparation based on the performance of their students on the FCAT. This will be state wide and will include Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach County.

Should we 'sort' teachers?

The debate rages on about whether or not to rate teachers based on their students' performance. This letter to the editor criticizes the use of state exams, like the FCAT, as tools to measure outcomes.

Reducing FCAT Stress

The FCAT is a stressful time for the students, educators and parents of Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties. So much time is spent on test preparation for these vital exams. One downside of this is the negative effect that stress has on Florida students and their test taking abilities. Now lawmakers are looking for ways to reduce the anxiety of those college bound students.

Read this article from the Miami Herald about this very topic: Florida educators seek ways to reduce stress of FCAT prep frenzy

FCAT possibly traded for National Standard

As all Miami, Broward and West Palm Beach students and parents know, FCAT's make up a big part of their school year. Now to make things possibly more confusing, or at the very least different, national standards are being considered for all state competency exams for K-12. Read the article from the Christian Science Monitor here.