The Florida Education Association decries Governor Scott’s efforts to take credit for Florida’s test scores on NAEP. He and his allies in the Legislature have been consistently hostile to public schools and their teachers. Don’t believe the myth of the Florida success story. It is not a model for the nation. The state is consistently in the middle of the pack nationally, as I showed here.
April 10, 2018 CONTACT: Joni Branch, (850) 201-3223 or (850) 544-7055
FEA: Scott doesn’t get the credit for Florida students’ achievements
TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Rick Scott is crowing today about Florida’s results on the just-released 2017 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).
Indeed, Florida showed improvement from 2015 to 2017 in fourth-grade math and eighth-grade reading and math. In a larger context, a look at past NAEP reports shows that Florida has just been holding steady since Rick Scott took office, with ups and downs along the way.
Whatever achievements Florida’s students make are no thanks to Rick Scott. The FEA would congratulate instead the people who do the work – teachers, education staff professionals and students – despite all the obstacles put in their path.
To Rick Scott and the Legislature, thanks for:
An ever-worsening shortage of qualified teachers
Teacher pay that lags the national average by $9,000, making it difficult to attract and keep new teachers
Education funding that hasn’t kept pace with inflation, and is still $1,000 below 2007 per-student levels (inflation adjusted)
An increase of just 47 cents per student in the new state budget
Working to weaken public education by channeling tax dollars to unaccountable private schools and charters
“Gov. Scott is trying to spin political gold from assessment results that, over the long term, don’t back him up,” said FEA President Joanne McCall. “But we’re happy to give credit where credit is due, to the teachers, education staff professionals and students who continue to achieve no matter how many roadblocks this administration has put in their way.”
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The Florida Education Association is the state’s largest association of professional employees, with more than 140,000 members. FEA represents pre K-12 teachers, higher education faculty, educational staff professionals, students at our colleges and universities preparing to become teachers and retired education employees.
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Diane Ravitch's blog 
Politicians like to take bows when teachers do the work. Politicians like to blame teachers for their foul plays. Typical!
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There are enough NAEP scores so that any politician seeking to use them can find a stastical anamoly they can use to their advantage. In Tennessee it is the “fastest improving” label the political leaders use. All numerical accidents. Scott has hurt children. Get me some real numbers like classroom size and numbers of students. These are actually quantifiable entities.
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Thank you. I got the mass email from the FL DOE, and the press release placed the credit for whatever gains we had on the “reform” efforts. Awful. We achieve IN SPITE of what they have done to the schools and the profession.
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In FLA, last year – I taught a class of 34 2nd graders – not fun. For elementary, 27 students in a class in grade 2 and 3 is the norm. The state law says 18 students per class but the district would rather pay a fine for over crowding classes than hiring more teachers.
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Reblogged this on David R. Taylor-Thoughts on Education and commented:
What an A$$. He needs to slither off to a hole.
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