Central Florida School District Cancels Testing Opt-Out

The Lee County school board in Fort Myers, Florida has withdrawn its vote to opt-out of the state’s standardized testing that is already in place. The decision to rescind the opt-out was made during a Tuesday morning meeting. The school board voted 3 – 2 with the majority deciding to resume testing again.

At the center of this testing debate is the hotly discussed and widely implemented Common Core standard. The Lee County school district is one of the first to vote not to make students take the end of course exams. Many parents were on board with opting out of the testing because they felt as though there is too much importance placed upon standardized tests.

The school district’s superintendent, Nancy Graham may have influenced the decision to pull out of the testing opt out. She warned schools that the decision may hurt students more than help them. She in turn asked the school board to reconsidering changing their voted.

Graham was indeed correct in the assumption that not completing the end of course exams hurting students. The Florida School Board Association confirms this by stating that students that did not take the standardized tests wouldn’t earn the proper requirements to gain a high school diploma.

Source:

Press, A. (2014, September 2). Florida school district cancels testing opt-out. Retrieved September 3, 2014, from http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2014/09/02/florida-school-district-cancels-testing-opt-out_ap.html
Gross, A. (2014, September 3). Florida district reverses decision to cancel standardized testing. Retrieved September 3, 2014, from http://www.educationdive.com/news/florida-district-reverses-decision-to-cancel-standardized-testing/304575/