A new proposal for curtailing testing in Florida schools was met with the support of the Senate Education Committee along with the heavy dose of amendments. The bill is supposed to provide relief to teachers and students who feel overwhelmed. The education system in the United States alone is heavily focused on creating an agenda around standardized tests and half of all teachers who come on board the education system are often quitting or leaving for better jobs because of this test crazy environment.
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Many educators are raising their concerns about the tests being pushed towards the last week of school, right before Summer Break.
Some think that the students would have to attend a class or a day at school for just one test a week or possibly two. I was once a public school tester myself and I remember that most of my tests were pushed into the last few weeks of May or the first two weeks of June which would have been summer break.
But now that the schools in Florida have gone back to the schedule of letting kids out before Memorial Day for summer break, it also seems that putting tests in May at the same time other final exams and exams for college-level courses are also taking place is a bit stressful to say the least.
"What you're effectively doing is cramming that all into the month of May," Mike Grego of the Pinellas County school board had to say to Tampa Bay Times.
There is an agreement in the House and Senate within Florida Congress, but they are clueless in reaching an idea that would help with pushing back testing.
Considering options
I may have an idea of my own that could possibly be an interest to the state of Florida for educational testing dilemmas. The idea could be you have college-level course exams and state assessments in the month of May.
For classroom final exams, options such as cutting out some material that was supposed to be covered to have the final exams done in April could leave some breathing room for students. That means the regular classes would be done in time for college-level courses and exams that require most of their attention, allowing students to excel better in higher level courses and be ready for college.
