Times are a-changin for Floridas education system, with the onset of Common Core State Standards off in the not-so-distant future and a new assessment test on the horizon for students across the Sunshine State. On top of a new set of education standards and a new test comes a whole new set of costs for Floridas education system.
Florida has already joined 44 other states in signing onto the national education standards, but some opponents of Common Core have expressed concerns over how much the initiative will actually end up costing the state.
Florida Stop Common Core Coalition is one group that has voiced concerns about the overall cost of implementing Common Core. While money to implement the standards may be provided for by the federal government through Race to the Top grants, FSCCC says the money is ultimately an empty promise.
When the federal government offers money in exchange for implementing one of their programs, it is like promising cold water to a vagabond in the desert in exchange for his shirt, wrote FSCCC. It seems like a good deal at first -- until there is no water and the sun starts beating down on a bare back. The federal government is already multitrillions of dollars in debt. It does not have any money to offer. Therefore, in short, the entire system is based on an empty promise.
Commissioner of Education Pam Stewart has tried to pacify cost concerns.
"Our analysis is there is not an additional cost with implementation of the Common Core standards," Stewart said at a public hearing on the standards.
But its unclear whether or not Stewarts statement is actually true. There are several additional costs associated with the implementation of Common Core, such as teacher training,new instructional materials, assessment tests and ongoing maintenance fees. In fact, most analysts agree that there will be at least some additional cost to implement and maintain the national education standards.
Earlier in 2013,the State Board of Education asked for over $400 millionfor newschooltechnology in the next year, but Gov. Rick Scott has proposed a smaller increase of $100 million.Lawmakers even adopted a lawwhich would bar Florida from using Common Core-affiliated tests until all schools had the needed technology in place, because the testing would require computers.
When it comes to assessment tests, anew report from Brookings Institution, a private, nonprofit group in Washington, D.C., that does research on education and other issues, noted that the test commonly associated with Common Core, the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) would actually end up costing less than the Sunshine States current testing. Florida ended its role as PARCCs fiscal agent in September, but the test isnt completely off the table.
Some state officials also say some parts of implementing Common Core would have been funded regardless of whether or not Florida was using the standards.
"The purchase of materials for the new standards was embedded in our regular instructional materials purchase cycle so did not result in additional purchases or increased costs unless school districts chose to do so," DOE spokeswoman Tiffany Cowie told Politifact earlier in October.
But while cost is a factor, Matthew Chingos of the Brookings Institute says states shouldnt compromise quality for cost. Two facts are clear," wrote Chingos. "Taxpayers get more bang for theirbuck when states collaborate, and students cannot afford for policymakers tocompromise on assessment quality."
It's unknown whether Florida will ultimately opt to go forward with PARCC. The state board is expected to reach a decision by March of next year.
Reach Tampa-based reporter Allison Nielsen atallison@sunshinestatenews.comor follow her on Twitter at@AllisonNielsen.
