After weaving its way through several committees and hours of debate on the Senate floor, a bill to limit standardized testing in Florida was finally approved by the Senate on Thursday, passing 32-4.
SB 616, sponsored by Sen. John Legg, R-Lutz, cuts back on statewide standardized testing and would completely eliminate the required 11th-grade Florida Standards Assessment English-language arts examination.
The legislation would also prohibit school districts from devoting more than 5 percent of total class time to standardized testing. If a school district requires more than 5 percent of school hours to administer tests, it would have to receive written permission from parents.
Leggs bill emerged from the outcry of thousands of Floridians who have expressed concern that there is simply too much testing in Floridas schools. Many against overtesting are strong critics of the Common Core State Standards, which were adopted in Florida last year.
An overabundance of tests has been one of the fiercest criticisms to emerge over the last few years in Florida.
On top of statewide administered assessment tests for reading and math, many other students have to take end-of-course assessments, too -- a problem some say doesnt actually lead students to learn but creates a culture of overtesting and overcomplication in the state education system.
Thursdays session proved somewhat unusual because two former Senate presidents harshly criticized the states testing system and had choice words about the rocky roll-out of the Florida Standards Assessment.
I'm done with testing in the state of Florida, said Sen. Tom Lee, R-Brandon. I'm done with the accountability system."
Lee told his fellow senators they had become complicit in the problem of Floridas messy accountability and testing system.
"It seems to me that we have to have a system that serves the needs of students, not students serving the need of a testing system, said Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville. "We've reached a point now ... where we need to have a simple system that can restore credibility to accountability."
The two former Senate presidents change of heart over the states accountability and testing system symbolizes a significant shift in the Florida Legislature, which has typically been supportive of pushing standardized testing.
But instead of retreating entirely from testing, the overwhelming sentiment in the Senate was that there is a need for a simpler, more streamlined testing and education system.
We cannot abandon accountability, said Sen. David Simmons R-Altamonte Springs. We cannot abandon the successes that we have achieved.
To do so, the Florida Legislature committed itself to making some changes in state education.
"We need to change the narrative of what is going wrong to what is going right for our kids, said Sen. Legg. "Our students deserve the right to rise."
Reach Tampa-based reporter Allison Nielsen by email atallison@sunshinestatenews.comor follow her on Twitter: @AllisonNielsen.
