Miami-Dade Schools Eliminate 24 Tests
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- Some good news for students who tired of taking so many tests. Miami-Dade County Public Schools will administer 24 fewer tests this year, following a preliminary review of the District's testing program.
The Miami-Dade School Board and Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho recently addressed concerns over the amount of testing students are faced with each year by calling for a comprehensive review of Florida's testing program.
"Everything's been a learning curve. We all whole-heartedly support some level of measurement, but it's been a challenge," Coconut Palm K-8 Principal Carmen Jones Carey told CBS4's Natalia Zea.
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In addition to being a principal, Jones Carey is also a mother of a high school student. She jumped for joy when she heard Miami-Dade Schools Carvalho's announcement that the District will eliminate 24 different assessment tests.
"Our action here today I think restores some sanity and reasonableness to schooling. It is being embraced and welcomed by our teachers. They feel they are being empowered with additional time to do what they love to do, which is teach," said Carvalho.
Principals attending a special breakfast in Miami on Thursday morning applauded the decision, which will affect nearly all grade levels.
"The Board and I celebrate alongside the Superintendent the restoration of critical instructional time back to students and teachers with this prudent elimination of 24 assessments," said School Board Chair Perla Tabares Hantman.
Carvalho recently demanded the state take a closer look at reducing its mandated assessment tests and decided he should begin at home in his own District.
"The concept of having interim assessments on top of mandated state exams- it's just too much. And I think we ought to have some reason back into our classrooms, respect for what teachers to do. Let them teach more and test less," said Carvalho.
According to the District, the elimination of these tests will mean students get back anywhere from an hour to more than four hours of learning time, depending on their grade level. Fifth and eighth graders will get the biggest break from testing at around 240 minutes.
"I just think more time is going to give our kids more opportunity to be successful," said Jones Carey.
Though Jones Carey said assessing students' abilities and learning comprehension is critically important, she believes there are better ways than continuous testing that isn't mandated by the state or federal governments.
As for the students' reaction to the news, "When are they never not happy about that?" laughed Jones Carey.
Students will still be assessed through government mandated exams.
Carvalho said, in addition, the district will use new computer-based technology to determine what students are learning.
The review has resulted in the following changes to the testing calendar:
In addition to District Baseline assessments that were decommissioned earlier this school year, separate Fall and Winter administrations of the Interim Assessments have been cancelled.
- Instead, one Mid-Year Assessment (MYA) will be administered.
- English Language Arts and Mathematics MYAs will be administered before Winter Break.
- Science and Social Studies MYAs will be administered beginning in January.
Grades K-8 FAIR-FS has been cancelled for the second and third administration periods (AP2 and AP3).
- i-Ready, a diagnostic assessment that is already in use, will be administered to fulfill progress monitoring requirements in grades 3-8.
- i-Ready unlike FAIR-FS in grades K-2, is a computer based diagnostic that does not require one-on-one teacher/student administration.
- Grades 9 – 12 FAIR-FS administration will remain as originally scheduled.
To students, this represents less time spent testing, and more time available for instruction.
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