FLORIDA EDUCATION NEWS
January 2006
IN THIS ISSUE:
COMMISSIONER JOHN WINN WANTS FEWER STUDENTS HELD BACK

The number of students being retained, or held back, in their grade levels has gotten too high for education officials.
 
Education Commissioner John L. Winn in December asked members of the High School Reform Task Force to consider recommending to the Florida Legislature the elimination of high school retention. During yesterday's High School Reform Task Force meeting, Commissioner Winn expressed concern over the number of high school students retained, particularly ninth graders, and called for policy changes that would redefine high school grade-level classifications. Of the nearly 93,000 high school students retained last year, more than one-third were in the ninth grade.
 
"There are a disproportionate number of ninth graders retained in Florida and we need to ask ourselves why they are being retained in such large numbers," said Commissioner Winn. "Is it to give them more time to prepare for the FCAT or to send a strong message about student performance early on in their high school careers? The question we ought to be asking ourselves is whether these reasons are good enough to outweigh the negative effects of such policies."
 
In Florida, thirty-six school districts retain ninth-grade students who earn less than six credits, regardless of grade point average; seven retain ninth-grade students with less than a 2.0 grade point average; and 33 retain ninth-grade students with less than five credits. Last year, Florida school districts retained more than 38,000 ninth graders - nearly 17 percent. No other grade level, including third grade, ever retained more students.
 
Third-grade retention is centered on students' ability to read proficiently and is a necessary intervention step to ensure students will be able to meet the more rigorous standards of subsequent grades. Currently, ninth-grade retention policies are inconsistent from district to district and lack the intervention typically associated with retention. Ninth graders who do not earn the credits necessary for promotion to tenth grade are classified as ninth graders for a second year. However, they do not repeat the ninth grade in its entirety, but retake the courses they failed or take different courses that will count toward graduation. The remainder of their coursework proceeds on the tenth-grade level in classrooms of their tenth-grade peers.
 
"We are basically sending a message to these students that they have failed before they even had a chance to get started and there is little to no hope of them graduating on time," added Commissioner Winn. "That's the wrong message at exactly the wrong time-when students are reaching the legal age to drop out of school. We need to encourage our students, especially our struggling students, and provide them the support they need to persevere and not leave."
 
Winn also urged task force members to consider the proposed elimination of high school retention as a means to reduce the number of high school students who choose to participate in General Educational Development (GED) programs to earn an equivalent diploma rather than pursue a standard diploma. Florida calculates into its graduation rate those students who earn an equivalent diploma within four years of beginning high school. Last year, 6,237 of the 131,507 high school graduates earned an equivalent diploma through a GED program.
 
"We want students to earn a high school credential, but, perhaps, are too quick to offer them an alternative path in a GED program," said Commissioner Winn. "This option surely saves many kids from receiving no education at all, but it may provide an all-too-easy way around the tougher road to a standard diploma. Every high school student should aspire to earn their standard diploma."
 
According to data reported by the Florida Department of Education, there is a positive correlation between districts' graduation rates, their corresponding GED rates, and ninth-grade retention rates. On average, districts with high graduation rates have low GED and ninth-grade retention rates, while districts with low graduation rates generally have high GED and ninth-grade retention rates.
 
Duval County Public Schools is one of the few big school districts in the state that require students to have a 2.0 grade-point average to be promoted to the next grade. Most districts require the 2.0 GPA only to graduate.
 
Beyond the 2.0, the district requires its students to pass math and English to be promoted, as well as algebra and geometry to graduate. Many school districts require only algebra, as mandated by state law.
 
That's not to say students have to redo their entire grade course work. Students may take next-level courses while retaking failed courses, but they will be kept in the same grade level, instead of being promoted to the next.
 
The district has the highest retention rate in Florida, partly because of these strict requirements, said Director of Secondary Programs Beverly Strickland. To combat the high retention rates, the district has set up tutoring programs, after-school programs, Saturday school and other forms of support.
 
District officials realize that the longer a student is in high school, the less likely he or she is to graduate, Strickland said. "We are trying to not only increase the relationships so the kids feel they belong there, but we are also increasing the rigor and making it more relevant for kids to be in high school."
 
back to top
FIRST LADY BUSH AWARDS WINNERS OF JUST READ, FLORIDA!'S READING IN THE ARTS CONTEST
 
Thousands of Florida's schoolchildren participated in "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" contest.
 
The winners of the Just Read, Florida! reading in the arts contest were joined by their family and teachers as they received prize packages, including Apple iPods, a weekend stay at Disney's Swan and Dolphin Resort, dinner at Orlando's Medieval Times, movie memorabilia, passes to Disney Theme Parks, and gift certificates for Barnes and Noble, Books-A-Million, Borders Books and Music, Simon Malls, and Starbucks Coffee Company. Teachers of the winners and their classrooms also received prize packages, including cash prizes from PEOExperts. In addition to Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media, the contest was sponsored by more than 25 businesses and organizations.
 
The statewide contest, which focused on the book The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis, ended on November 25. It was created for students in grades 3 through 12 in public, private, and home school. The contest received more than 5,000 submissions with 3,006 essays, 2,488 illustrations, and 52 videos.
 
Winners awarded today in each of the three categories are:
Specific guidelines were used for evaluating each category. Elementary students were judged on their creativity, grammar and spelling, choice of words, and organization of their essay. Middle school illustrations were based on the illustration and communication of an emotion, event, or concept related to the book; use of the elements of art and principles of design; and the work's control of the media and craftsmanship. The videos submitted by high school students considered the work's originality, screenplay, directing, acting performances, cinematography, sound/music, editing, production design, and any special effects.
 
Just Read, Florida! is Governor Jeb Bush's statewide reading initiative to achieve the goal of every child reading at or above grade level by the year 2012. The initiative is designed to guide changes at every level of education that have an impact on reading outcomes in Florida schools. In fiscal year 2005-2006, this initiative received $89 million for a K-12 comprehensive, district-wide system of research-based reading instruction with $50,000 minimum for each school district.
 
For more information on the Just Read, Florida! initiative, visit www.justreadflorida.com.   

back to top
 
NEW REPORT PROVIDES FLORIDA HIGH SCHOOLS WITH FEEDBACK ON GRADUATES

A new Florida Department of Education report provides Florida's public high schools with information about the performance of their 2004 graduates. Individualized for each school, the reports present a comprehensive profile of college readiness based on graduates' performance while still in high school, compared to their enrollment in and first semester performance at a postsecondary institution. Administrators can use the analyses contained in the report to effectively evaluate and plan school improvement strategies. This is the earliest schools have had access to this data and the first time it has been available in one consolidated report.
 
Previously, Florida based its evaluation of college readiness solely on student performance on the Common Placement Test (CPT). However, performance on the CPT is just one of many indicators of student preparedness. The new reports, known as the "High School Feedback Reports," include school, district and state level data on ten pre-graduation and seven post-graduation indicators.
 
Pre-graduation indicators include performance on the tenth-grade Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT); participation in the PSAT, SAT, and ACT; number of students completing Advanced Placement; dual enrollment or other high-level courses; and the percentage of students eligible for Bright Futures scholarships. Post-graduation indicators include the percentage of graduates attending a postsecondary institution in Florida, percentage of students enrolled in college-level Math and English courses, and postsecondary fall term Grade Point Averages.
 
"Receiving timely data like this really helps schools focus on areas of concern that might not be apparent at first glance. The success of a high school can certainly be measured by more than just the number of graduates, and this data does a great job of digging down to specifics and shows just how well we are doing in many areas," said Bill Husfelt, principal of A. Crawford Mosley High School in Bay County. "I was excited to see the positive achievements of former graduates at the next level. These statistics confirm our belief that we are better preparing students for college than ever before."
 
"I am very impressed with the new 'High School Feedback Report,' which provides a comprehensive picture of how our graduates do as they continue their postsecondary careers. As a former high school principal, one of the areas we always wanted to evaluate was our ability to prepare our graduates to be successful in their further educational endeavors," said Bruce King, director of Assessment and Accountability for Monroe County Public Schools. "While some of that data was available, it was difficult to work with and nowhere near as detailed as this report. I believe that our College and Career Counselors will find this extremely valuable as they work to raise public awareness about the value of a high school diploma and when encouraging students to take the most rigorous courses possible."
 
For access to the reports, click here. 

back to top
EDUCATION BOARD UNVEILS PLAN TO LURE MORE TEACHERS TO FLORIDA
 
The state Board of Education will ask the legislature for $30 million to recruit thousands of teachers.  The board says the state will need more than 30,000 additional teachers by next fall.  The board says the state also needs to come up with ways to keep teachers from leaving for other states with better salaries.
 
The board's ideas came in a legislative proposal approved today.  The board also proposes postponing the science portion of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test from 10th grade to 11th.
 
It also wants to reform high school graduation requirements to allow students to focus on a major similar to when they are in college. Those who fail a high school course also wouldn't be held back a grade; instead, they would be allowed to retake the course while remaining on track with their fellow classmates.

back to top
FREE STUDENT WORKBOOKS AVAILABLE FOR PREVIEW (Advertisement)
 
Queue, Inc. offers previews of its Florida test preparation workbooks to public schools.  Queue publishes test prep books in Mathematics, Reading Comprehension, and Composition for Grades 3-high school, as well as Practice Tests in Math.
 
Queue also offers Math and Reading workbooks for grades 1 and 2, and publishes a wide variety of other workbooks in Literature, Science, History, Government, Health, and ESL.  Samples of student workbooks are available for preview.
 
For further information and to order free previews, click here to visit our Florida Workbooks webpage.

or call: 800-232-2224
 
or fax: 800-775-2729
 
or e-mail: jdk@queueinc.com
 
or write: Queue, Inc., 1 Controls Dr., Shelton, CT 06484
 
back to top
 
Queue News Renaissance Magazine
Queue Inc.
1 Controls Drive
Shelton, Ct. 06484
(800) 232-2224
Fax (800) 775-2729
Email jdk@queueinc.com